Mute Conversations

By Alexandra Krauze

Pantomime is the art of creating scenes and

characters by using movement, mimicry, and
gesture. Through this genre comes from time
immemorial, it is peculiar to the creative work of
actors, and forms the base of acting. Emotionally
expressive movement is a natural element of
pantomime – acting can’t exist without it.
Pantomime is a fundamental art form, other forms
of dramatic and musical theatre originates from it.
As K. S. Stanislavski once said: “Silence quite
often influences us more strongly, subtly, and
irresistibly than speech. Mute conversation might
be more interesting and persuasive than worded
conversation.”

The Georgian nation is very theatrical. Our theatric

tradition, and the manners and cheerfulness of our
characters are sure proof of that. Georgia was the first
country of the former Soviet Union to create a State
Pantomime Theatre. Fluid, expressive and emotional
exertion are some of the reasons for this theatre success.
Kote Marjanisviliwas first Georgian director to stage
pantomime performances. He staged his first plays in
Russia. Than he returned home and staged two plays:
“Mzetamze” and “Handzari” (“Fire”). His splendid and
striking dream of opening a pantomime theatre came
true only after his death, when in 1976 year Amiran
Shalikashvili created Georgian State Pantomime Theatre.
After many years of wandering, in 1989 the Pantomime
Theatre found a permanent home at 37 Rustaveli Ave.
There it has remained situated to the present day, where
it continues its work and attains new heights.
Amiran Shalikashvili is the founder and director of
the Georgian State Pantomime Theatre. As a
choreographer, he helps the bodies of his actors to sing,
to laugh, and to cry. The actor’s bodiesexpress internal
feelings better than words would. Shalikashvili is a poet,
a writer, an actor, and a teacher, - part Charlie Chaplin
and part Marcel Marceau.

GT interviewed Amiran Shalikashvili:

Q: The Pantomime Theater presents “Terenti

Graneli” November 3 and 10. You will also be
performing “Pirosmani mepe” (“King Pirosmani”)
on November 7. Please tell us something about
these performances.
A: “Pirosmani Mepe” was staged a long time ago.
It is Guram Dochanashvili’s play. It was performed in
many countries, including seventeen cities in Holland.
What can I say about this play?! I like the tasty roast
meat that is cooked for the holiday “Pirosmanoba”, but
only Pirosmani’s life and creative work are important and
interesting to me. In this play we try to show him as a
painter, as a man in love.
“Terenti Graneli” came to me by chance. The
scenario belongs to Revaz Mishveladze. I was thinking
about the play for eight months, - eight months, not eight
days or eight hours. Than I started to improvise, and the
process of working on this play involved me so intensely
that I did not know what I was doing. Now that I can see
what I have done, I think its great!
My son plays title role in this play. Whoever misses
this performance will miss out the future of Georgian
theatre. Terenti Graneli’s life was full of tragedy. He said
to other poets, “Please, just leave me alone, this is my
life, don’t aspire to it.”
Georgian theatres always emphasize Shakespeare’s
“Hamlet” and “Othello.” I think that we must perform our
own plays. “Hamlet” and “Othello” have their own
homeland, and England will treat them as they deserved,
while we risk losing our background and our cultural
treasures. We have our David Kldiashvili, our Ilia
Chavchavadze and Akaki Tsereteli. What belongs to us
will never belong to others, what the rest of the world
owns will never be ours.
We plan to show “Terenti Graneli” in Europe, but I
think we must change its titile to “The Poet”, or “Not
death, not life, but something else.” What else? Come
and see it!

Q: What are you doing at this moment?

A: We are rehearsing “Don Juan”, but I really don’t
want to talk about it.

Q: What was the last reward that the theatre

received?
 A: We won first prize in Spainthis summer. We
visited the Mediterranean Festival with our “Krimanchuli”
and novels and returned home in triumph. It was our
second visit to Spain. Our first time there was in 2003. We
won money, and the Ministry of Culture apportioned us
ten thousand GEL. That was all the money that we had
for the trip, and of course it was not enough. It sufficed
for the drive from Tbilisi to Barcelona, but from Barcelona
to Alikante our pockets were entirely empty. I tried to
some more money. I appealed to Tbilisi’s City
Admin9istration – nothing. I tried get my own salary in
advance – still nothing.
But our trip to Spain was twelve days of celebration
for our audience, and was a great holiday for us too! In
the evenings we paraded in the streets with live statues.
Now we have our own impresario in Europe. My gratitude
toward my actors is very high – it is hard to act in the
street, but they did it and they did it perfectly.

Q: Do you have any plans for the future?

A: I plan to subjugate Europe!
Our theatre has many invitations from Greece, Italy,
and Poland. Next year in August we will participate in the
World Pantomime Festival in Valencia. Every country
where I show my magic I am asked to stay, but I prefer to
be a guest – I like to leave and than come back home. I
can be in Spain for a little while, but I am really here, in
Georgia. I am not a great patriot – I am just a real
Georgian man. Our theatre has a Georgian repertoire, and
I will shoe Europeour poets, our painters, our character,
our heart and our soul.
 Q: Please, tell us in detail about your books.
A: My first book was a volume of collected poems
titled “Dumilis Shemdeg” (“After Silence”). Then I wrote
the poem “Khilvebi Pirosmanxe” (“Visions about
Pirosmani”), after which I wrote “Pantomima – Dumilis
Poesia” (“Pantomime – Poetry of Silence”), and
“Tsremliani Shemodgoma” (“Tearful Autumn”). I plan to
publish two more books.

Q: If you had ability to change one thing in

your life what would you choose?
A: I would fall in love with a woman again.
Woman… I was born of woman and I will never betray her.

“The Georgian Times”,

October 30, 2006.