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Gabriadze marionette theatre Rezo Gabriadze Marionette Theatre is a cultural and architectural curiosity in Tbilisi. You only need to take a quick look at the building to understand what makes it so special. Short introduction Theatre and film director, playwright, writer, painter, graphic artist and sculptor Revaz (Rezo) Gabriadze is a man of many talents. He writes his plays, assembles the puppets and brings them to life on stage. The Gabriadze Theatre opened in 1981 and has become a popular part of the cultural scene and an integral part of the architecture of Tbilisi's Old Town. The theatre seats only 80 people and only four plays are performed there: "The Autumn of Our Spring", "The Battle of Stalingrad", "Ramona" and "Le Diamant du Maréchal de Fantie". Few puppets have travelled as much as Rezo Gabriadze. In a career spanning 40 years, Gabriadze has performed in many countries: New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Municipal Theatre of Paris, Spain and Bogota, Toronto and London, Washington, Dresden and Moscow. Gabriadze's motto is written in gold letters on the façade of the theatre: "Extra Cepam Nihil Cogito Nos Lacrimare" ("May our tears come only from cutting onions"). Clock tower and short performance In 2010, Mr Gabriadze built an unusual clock tower next to his theatre. The tower is tilted sideways and supported by a massive metal column. The tower itself was built from river stones and bricks from abandoned houses in Tbilisi. The metal pillar is also recycled and comes from the old Metekhi Bridge over the Kura River. The lower part of the tower is decorated with hundreds of small ceramic tiles made by Rezo Gabriadze, and next to it is the smallest clock in the country. The US internet portal Atlas Obscura has included Gabriadze's clock tower in its list of the world's most extraordinary clock towers, along with other towers such as "The Giant Ghibli Clock" from Japan, "Reloj Floral" from Chile, "The Zimmer Clock Tower" from Belgium and "Reloj Monumental" from Mexico. The Tower of the Gabriadze Theatre is worth seeing not only for its architectural peculiarity, but also for the performances that take place twice a day: Every day at 12 noon and 7 pm, a little angel comes out of the beautifully painted door and rings the bells 12 times, or 7 times in the evening. Then the two-minute show begins: the larger door in the centre of the tower opens to the beautiful music of composer Gia Khancheli and you see a young man who meets a girl and falls in love with her. The scene continues and the two get married, have children who slowly grow up, go to school, play sports and become young people themselves. The parents grow older and older and eventually die, but they don't disappear because they live on in the hearts of their children and grandchildren. The performance is called "The Cycle of Life" and despite its brevity of just two minutes, it makes the audience think and stays with them for a long time. Location of Gabriadze marionette theatre The Gabriadze Puppet Theatre is located in the historic district of Tbilisi, on Shavteli Street. On following trip, you will visit Theatre |
