Tbilisi theatre in German foreign office assistance "making a difference" amid pandemic
The Tbilisi troupe has impressed local and foreign audiences with their contemporary productions over the recent years, sparking wider conversations about social issues. Photo via Royal District Theatre.
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A Tbilisi theatre troupe is one of four cultural and educational institutions from around the world that have not only survived the pandemic but thrived in their work thanks to a support initiative by the German Federal Foreign Office.
In a summary of their project of providing aid to the select venues in the midst of the Covid crisis last year, the German foreign ministry revealed the Royal District Theatre, one of the most popular stage companies attracting viewers both locally and abroad, was one of their beneficiaries.
The extent of the support from the fund, provided by the foreign office in cooperation with the Goethe Institute and civil society partners, has enabled the troupe to not only avoid the possibility of shuttering due to the unpredictable circumstances of the pandemic, but also offer new creative work to its audience.
[Royal District Theatre] has now been able to develop six new pieces in pandemic-appropriate formats, from audio dramas to sound installations to performances using the cityscape of Tbilisi as their stage."
- Federal Foreign Office
From a mobile cinema in Beirut to audio performances in Tbilisi: German assistance for cultural institutions abroad is making a difference. @HeikoMaas digitally visited projects in Brazil, Georgia, Lebanon and Bosnia and Herzegovina today: https://t.co/Oele9awdLw pic.twitter.com/gGfvw0ocJF
— GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) March 15, 2021
The new productions were created as the Tbilisi-based theatre's submission for the fund was accepted, with the troupe's dramatist Davit Gabunia explaining the creative team "needed some equipment for [new work], we just could not afford renting everything every single time".
Now [after receiving the support] the theatre is preparing a full digital program. Actors are eager to work, after a long time of stagnancy."
- Davit Gabunia
Initiated in June 2020, the fund's aid eventually encompassed the Tbilisi theatre alongside the Metropolis Art Cinema in Lebanon, the Women’s Reading Room in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Escola Olodum in Brazil.
The federal agency plans to expand the initiative with double the budget this year, to ensure "[i]nternational solidarity in culture and education" is provided in times when it's "urgently needed".
The Royal District Theatre and its young creative team have impressed local and foreign audiences with their productions that are not only examples of contemporary stage art from the Georgian scene, but also touch on social issues and raise subjects for wider discussions.
The troupe has toured Europe and offered shows in theatres including the Deutsches Theater in Berlin, where Gabunia and award-winning director Data Tavadze presented their works Prometheus. 25 Years of Independence and Women of Troy in 2018.