A small intimate theater in the heart of Old Tbilisi, created by artist, director, and playwright Rezo Gabriadze, featuring poetic puppet performances and the legendary "leaning" clock tower.
In the very heart of Old Tbilisi, on the pedestrian Shavteli Street, lies one of the capital's most magical and touching places: the Marionette Theater. It was founded in 1981 by Rezo Gabriadze, an outstanding Georgian artist, sculptor, writer, and film director renowned as the screenwriter of cult films such as "Mimino" and "Kin-dza-dza!". This theater became the embodiment of his multifaceted talent, a place where the puppets and stories he created come to life.
The theater building is itself a work of art and a city landmark. The small, whimsically leaning clock tower, adorned with tiles hand-painted by Gabriadze himself, looks as if it stepped out of the pages of a fairy tale. Every hour, a small angel figurine appears from a window on the tower and strikes a bell with a little hammer. And twice a day, exactly at 12:00 and at 19:00, a puppet mini-performance called "The Circle of Life" is presented here free of charge for all passersby.
The theater's productions are not children's shows, but rather profound, lyrically rich, and subtly humorous philosophical parables for an adult audience. Staged productions such as "Ramona", "The Autumn of My Spring", and the world-renowned "Stalingrad" recount touching tales of love, warfare, hope, and dreams. All puppets and scenery were designed personally by Rezo Gabriadze. Performances run in Georgian but are invariably accompanied by English surtitles, making them accessible to guests from all corners of the globe.
Getting tickets to a performance at the Gabriadze Theater is a stroke of great luck. The auditorium seats only 80 people, and the theater's renown has long extended far beyond Georgia, so tickets are in huge demand. They must be purchased well in advance, sometimes several weeks or even months before the show date, on the theater's official website or through Georgian ticketing services. Adjacent to the theater is the equally famous Cafe Gabriadze, where you can immerse yourself in the creative atmosphere even if you couldn't attend a performance.
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