Theatre institutions, officials pay homage after actor Gogi Kharabadze dies at 81

Stage art professionals, troupes and officials from across Georgia on Friday sent their condolences to the family and colleagues of Gogi Kharabadze, a recognised actor of the domestic theatre and cinema scene and recipient of a range of state prizes, who died at the age of 81.

Rustaveli Theatre, the company Kharabadze spent his career at, noted “greatest pain” at the loss of the performing arts personality, while the Culture Ministry highlighted his legacy on stage.

The Ministry noted Kharabadze’s line of portraying antagonists in domestic stage productions over the years, as well as his on-screen appearances starting in the 1960s.

“[Kharabadze] mainly found himself cast as antagonist characters, and it was precisely his ‘negative charm’ that ensured memorable places [for those roles] in his repertory”

- Culture Ministry

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said in a social media message the actor had created “unforgettable faces that have found their places among Georgia’s cultural treasures”.

Graduating from the Faculty of Acting of the Shota Rustaveli Theatre in 1963, Kharabadze was cast in stage productions ranging from Kvarkvare Tutaberi to Richard III.

On the cinema screen, he featured in films ranging from the Soviet-era Georgian classics to works produced in the country’s independent era - from the 1967 Falling Leaves by celebrated filmmaker Otar Iosseliani to the 2005 A Trip to Karabakh by Levan Tutberidze.

He also appeared in TV productions to narrate works by famed national poets over the decades, staged, directed and appeared in a 29-episode television play in 1996, and released audio recordings of poems and fairytales.

Kharabadze was awarded the state titles of the Meritorious Artist of Georgia and People’s Artist of Georgia, while also receiving the Shota Rustaveli State Prize and being elected to the membership of the Theatre Society of Georgia and the Union of Cinematographers of Georgia.