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 Kote Marjanishvili

            Kote Marjanishvili was born in Kvareli, Georgia. At the close of the 19th century he went on the stage. He made his debut as an actor by Akaki Tsereteli’s drama “Short Kakhi”. In 1896, Kote Marjanishvili played the part of Levan Khimshiashvili by David Eristavi’s play “Homeland”.

            In 1897, Kote Marjanishvili left Georgia for Russia where he worked for 25 years and was called “Russian Max Reinhardt and Gordon Craig”. He was among the first to stage plays by Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky. He established new theatres and new canons of dramatic art together with Constantin Stanislavsky, Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Evgeny Vakhtangov.

            From 1910-13 Kote Marjanishvili was collaborating with the Moscow Art Theatre, where he produced “In the grip of life” by Knut Hamsun and “Peer Gynt” by Henrik Ibsen. Critics announced that Caucasian temperament was dominated in these performances.

            In 1913 Kote Marjanishvili set up “the Liberty Theatre” in Moscow. He wanted to put into practice the idea of the synthetic theatre and train actors who would equally perform in opera, drama and pantomime. Kote Marjanishvili produced several productions at this theatre and nearly achieved his aim. A year later “the Liberty Theatre” closed and on its basis Alexander Tairov founded “the Moscow Chamber Theatre”.

            The veritable renascence of the Georgian theatre began with  the arrival of Kote Marjanishvili, a reformer of the stage  (the outstanding producer had worked in Russia for twenty -five years and was well known as a gifted innovator). He maintained the principles of synthetic theatre. Irrespective of genre, the performances he staged were always festive and optimistic. The traditions founded by the remarkable actors of the old Georgian theatre and his experience of the Russian stage were the foundations upon which he created the new Georgian theatre.

            The first performance Kote Marjanishvili staged at theTbilisi State Drama theatre, named after the great poet Shota Rustaveli, was Lope de Vega’s “Fuente Ovejuna” (produced  by him in Kiev in 1919; the play was the first performance of the Soviet drama theatre). This was the first truly harmonious performance at the Georgian theatre: the cast, the settings, the music, lighting and choreography, all the elements were subordinated to express the idea of the play. The presentation of "Hamlet" by Shakespeare at the Rustaveli Theatre (produced by Kote Marjanishvili in 1925) was regarded as an epoch-making performance in the history of the Georgian theatre. The only kinds of theatre that Kote Marjanishvili found acceptable were those that would have an impact upon contemporary life. A contemporaneous understanding of classic plays was, a “condition sine qua non” for his further work and productions.

            The appearance at the Georgian theatre of several generations of brilliant actors, playwrights, producers and theatrical artists, - all this should be ascribed to the accomplishments of Kote Marjanishvili.

            Many artistic individualities were formed under Kote Marjanishvili’s guidance . In the line of staging plays, the gifted Sandro  Akhmeteli came to the forefront.  Regarding scenery, artists such as V. Sidamon-Eristavi, Irakli Gamrekeli, Lado Gudiashvili were remarkable for their original perception of the requirements of the theatre in the line of theatrical decorative art, which also found expressive exponents in Petre Otskheli, David Kakabadze, Elene Akhvlediani. New themes and problems became the subject of dramaturgy. Shalva Dadiani’s plays ,Polokarpe Kakabadze’s “Prisoners of Lisbon”, “Kvarkvare Tutaberi” became fundamental works of new Georgian dramaturgy.

            In 1926, Kote Marjanishvili left the Rustaveli theatre with a large group of actors. In 1928, he founded a new theatre in Kutaisi. This theatre quickly achieved sensational success not only in Georgia but also in guest performances in Kharkov and Moscow, after which it moved to Tbilisi. During this period of time, he staged  productions such as: “Hopla, We’re  Alive” by Ernst Toller, “ “To the Very Heart” by Shalva Dadiani, “Uriel  Acosta” by Carl Gutzkow, “How” by Karlo Kaladze,  “Kvarkvare TuTabery” by Polikarpe Kakabadze, “Beatrice Cenci” by Percy Shelley, “Othello” by William Shakespeare etc. In 1933, after the death of  Kote Marjanishvili, the theatre was named after its founder.