Medea Chakhava

                                                         |Nanuka Sephashvili|

“Literature and art” N6. 2006 year.

Article by Manana Gegechkori about Medea Chakhava:

An actor pliant as wax

When she was a pupil she was captivated with ballet. She even entered Vakhtang Chabukiani’s studio though she didn’t continue studying there. After that she passed the examination in the university, on foreign languages’ faculty. With the guidance of Erekle Tatishvili she was learning English language. She was lucky for her teachers from the beginning. An institute of theatre opened exactly that year when she finished her first course. Medea Chakhava decided to be an actress but entrance exams were finished already. Her father’s , Vaso Chakhava’s friend  Akaki Khorava who also was head of the institute, once more invited a selection committee. For unknown for us reasons she read a poem “Gankitskhuli” by Irodion Evdoshvili. Weird choice for young attractive girl. A poem written about prostitute woman wasn’t conformable to character of a little girl with bride. Maybe this choice brought to light Medea’s desire of total transformation into completely different person. She began reading the poem in a very low voice, she hardly whispered first words, than she stopped, she tried to go on once more, despite the fact that the members of committee were encouraging her. But in vain. She couldn’t compete the poem, she was standing all pale, ashamed and with teary eyes. She decided that she had to bury in oblivion her biggest dream. She struggled a lot to earn permission from her parent to study in the institute of theatre, but it seems that the members of committee saw how virtuous, charming and emotional person was standing in front  of them.  So they took Medea Chakhava in the institute of theatre.

On May 17 of 1943 an institute of theatre hosted great artists from Moscow’s Art-theatre. They were V. Nemirovich-Danchenko, V. Kachalov, I. Moskvin, O. Kniper-Chkekhova and others. When V. Kachalov saw Medea Chkakhava in “Blue and Pink” of A.Brushtain, he said: “This girl is a miracle! Take care of her!” from that day Medea Chakhava’s stage creativity became an indivisible part of Georgian theatrical life.

Her debut was on a professional stage in Rustaveli Theatre’s play “Bride Poster”. But Medea Chkakhava’s individuality sharply identified in “Deep are the roots” of A. D’usseau and J. Gow that was staged by a director Dimitri Aleksidze. There was the identification of artist’s ability of truly loving the viewer, her ability of loving a man which brings a woman to selflessness.

Trying to personify Lida Matisova (Pavel Kohout "When there is such love" director Mikheil Tumanishvili) Medea Chakhava recalls one curious story: “on the previous day of the wedding my Lida Matisova meets her ex-lover Petri Perus who is already married and spends the night with him because she loved him. For this the society judges her. M. Tumanishvili told me: “If you want this episode to be played with whole depth, you have to lie in the puddle and feel the emotional experience of the person when he is insulted, when he’s soaked in mud.” It was a rainy day. At night I really lied down in the puddle in my yard. Seemed that Misha was watching me from his window ( Misha Tumanishvili and Medea Chakhava were neighbors that time). You can’t imagine how much it helped me not only in creating the mood but also in finding the physical action. In this episode I was standing on the stage totally abused, as if mud water was streaming down my back.” As it is known,  this kind of “creative experiment”  crowned whit great success hasn’t repeated in Medea Chakhava’s biography.

Distinguished with tenderness, feminine charm and lyricism, the actress decided not to limit herself in theatrical character’s frames and to act different characters of different heroes in various plays and genres. To be more correct, the directors noticed Medea’s sharpness of transformation, diversity and they gave her the opportunity to show  her maximum in acting arts.
   I want to end this letter devoted to Medea Chakhava’s creative work with words of a person with whom Medea’s best era in acting is communicated…
       many years has passed and Medea Chakhava’s name turned into my favorite theatrical youth memory. Lots of things that I did in Rustaveli Theatre was directly communicated with Medea’s name.   We were friends, like-minded persons, we were coauthors of many unforgettable (of course for us ) works. It was a great pleasure working together.

I love Mediko very much as an actress and maybe I am subjective but I think that many things that she has modeled for the stage, was the real art.

Our creative process included many rehearsals, conversations, quarrels. I remember many interesting and happy minutes, unfortunately those interesting and happy minutes that I remember are only memories, but this was beautiful, pretty time of raising a real talent.  Her femininity always charmed the audience and forced to feel.

This is a great talent – to sing for love!”

                                                                                                 (Mikheil Tumanishvili)

                                                                                            Translated by Tatia Tukhashvili