“Sharpen Your Swords, Georgians!” Georgian Theater in Exile - History and Present

Abstract

Georgian people had to participate in wars for centuries and the Georgian theater played an important role in protecting the country. Like patriotic songs, Georgian actors in wars not only morally encouraged the army, but also fought to protect freedom. It is true that war is not the only factor that causes intensive emigration, but in the case of Georgia, war as an event is the main provocateur that forces a person to seek refuge in a safe country, in order to save himself. After the Battle of Krtsanisi (1795), Georgian dramatist, public figure and founder of classical theater in Georgia Giorgi Avalishvili (1769-1850) emigrated to Russia and continued his work there.

The figures of the Georgian theater did not immigrate only to Russia. In 1920, Georgian theater actor Giorgi Jabadari (1888-1938) went to Europe, to Germany. After the occupation of Georgia by Russia in 1921, he remained in exile. He worked successfully in Brussels and Berlin as a director. He was a member of the board of directors of the Odeon-Theater of Europe in Paris.

In the Georgian theater, the next wave of emigration came in the 1990s. On the one hand, Georgia gained independence, on the other hand, the collapse of the Soviet Union caused complete chaos. In 1990, at the instigation of Moscow, the Osama separatists declared the Samachablo region (the same autonomous region of South Ossetia that was part of Georgia) as an independent democratic republic.

The conflict between the central government of Georgia and the government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia escalated in approximately the same scenario. On September 27, 1993, Sukhumi fell as a result of a clash between the Abkhaz separatists and the Georgian army. The Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, like South Ossetia, declared independence. The international community has not recognized the independence of the autonomous republics, except for Russia.

Georgian theaters in exile continue to operate successfully, but they never lose hope to return to their hometowns and their audience.