By Milena Barseghyan
Photos by Narek M. Aleksanyan
TBILISI, Dec 21(Tbilisi Times) - The building of Petros Adamian Tbilisi State Armenian Drama Theatre was decommissioned 13 years ago, and is preparing to host its first audience in September 2024, according to Creative Director Armen Bayanduryan.
Approximate image of theater hall
Creative Director Armen Bayanduryan in his office
The theater has been empty for 13 years, however, the crew never stopped performing. Instead, they added five new performances each year in different venues. The theater staff was waiting for the reconstruction of the theater that was supposed to be completed in 2020, but it was delayed due to the lack of necessary construction equipment and the pandemic.
The chairs await their new audience
and Exit to the balcony
"It stopped working due to an emergency 13 years ago, and then the theater’s board of directors turned to Georgia’s government. The Prime Minister of that time, Bidzina Ivanishvili, undertook to sponsor the reconstruction works of the theater fully," said Bayanduryan.
Bayanduryan said he does not consider this delay as a problem, because the building was completely reconstructed instead of being renovated. It should be noted that the theater named after Petros Adamyan is the only Armenian-language theater in Georgia and the only state-controlled Armenian theater in the world that operates outside of Armenia.
"At the moment, the only missing components are the sound and lighting equipment, we’ll receive them by September and we’ll introduce a new play catalog,” said Bayanduryan. “Until then, we are busy with tours, our crew is going to take part in a festival in Paris soon."
The creative director said he is sure that after the long-awaited break, the audience will visit the beautiful building with great pleasure and the involvement of several young directors will help rejuvenate the cultural life.
The building of Petros Adamian Tbilisi State Armenian Drama Theatre from outside
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