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Robert Sturua


Nothing has depreciated in my whole life. Perhaps some forms have changed within the bounds but I have retained all I believed. I am the same person as I was. I can’t be changed much, I mean making performances. I still try to maintain everything that is fascinating in theatre and anything that is done there to be unusual for the audience, it is simply necessary. We go to theatre to see something new. For example, when we go to exhibition and we find out familiar paintings, we are excited when we can identify the authors - this is Matisse, or Gudiashvili. However, this does not work the same way in the theatre. As soon as people recognize an actor in performance, theatre loses its charm and magic. People often recognize “it’s Sturua’s performances” and I feel discontent about it… I want them to say, “oh, this performance does not look like Sturua’s work”.

I can stage thousands of performances like “Maria Callas” and I am sure that I am the most realistic director in Georgia. Although “Maria Callas” is not staged as primitive critics perceive it; there is a magic, which goes beyond realistic boundaries. However, they do not notice it, Fortunately or unfortunately.


Now, we are working on Polikarpe Kakakbadzes plays. We are not sure yet whether we will show it to our audience or not, because it appeared to be quite challenging and hard to stage and to play. Well, we will try… Instead of revolution, I brought a “transfiguration” concept in the play. Revolution is already outdated and reaction to this word is always specific – this word is linked to soviet plays.

Commissioner… as you know, there were many female heroes who took part in revolution. They were pretty scary types. Soviet drama addressed this issue pretty well. As for transfiguration, it cannot be passive – once, our Savior went up the hill. He changed… No one knows what happened there. But his apostles realized that he was not a human any more. Son of a man, at the same time was the Son of God. The nation is better to change for the better, for this, the nation must not be transfigured. They tried to change us during nine years, but fortunately we have not changed. Though, debris of that distorting mirror, still are around us. I mean Andersen’s gnomes mirror, which was broken and debris hit people’s hurts and heads, and that people become wicked.  That’s why it’s better to preserve the nation's core beliefs and traditions that they during several thousands.