Tbilisi: Wandering Moon Theater presents play “Firosmani”

The Wandering Moon Theater presented an excellent new puppet show, “Firosmani“. The Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth Thea Tsulukiani, attended the event.

The show premiered on November 18, 2023, at the Rustaveli National Theater in Tbilisi as part of the Georgian Culture Days festival. 

Thea Tsulukiani praised the show as a “masterpiece of puppetry” and a “wonderful gift to the Georgian people and the world”. She also expressed her support for developing and promoting puppetry as a form of cultural expression and education in Georgia.

The puppet performance was created with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth. It was held in Tbilisi City Hall and Marjanishvili Theater, telling us about the life and work of the legendary Georgian painter Niko Firosmani.

The author of the play, music arranger and director is Nika Luarsabishvili, scenographers – Nino Kitia and Irine Szliashvili; 

The actors are:

• Levan Baidauri
• Giorgi Totadze
• Alexander Kvezereli
• Nini Kotashvili
• Nika Mchedlishvili
• Nanisha Metreveli
• Luka Chulukhadze
• Lela Khachaturov

The play will be voiced by: Levan Tsuladze (Arkivarius), Gia Kitia (Meezove), Archil Sulakvelidze (Niko Firosmani), Nikoloz Ghughunishvili (Little Niko), Mari Kita (Niko Firosmani’s mother), Nanisha Metreveli (Elisabeth), Alexander Kvezereli (Lado), Nika Luarsabishvili (Dimitra), Mariam Gulashvili (Margarita), Jeji Skhirtladze (Calantarovs, Director of Railway and Cafe Shantan).

The puppet play “Firosmani” is one of the winning projects of the Ministry of Culture competition – “promoting professional theatres creative activities at a cost or other expense.”

The competition aims to implement new creative initiatives in Georgian professional theatres to search for new forms, methods of performing and means; introduce unknown artists to the public; diversify the repertoire of Georgian theatre; and enrich it with new techniques.

Firosmani Puppet Show

Firosmani is a puppet show based on the life. It is the work of Niko Pirosmani, a Georgian self-taught painter considered one of the most important representatives of naive art in the 20th century.

The show was created by the Wandering Moon Theater, a puppet troupe from Tbilisi that specializes in innovative and experimental performances. 

The show combines traditional and modern puppetry techniques, such as rod, string, shadow, and digital puppets, to create a colourful and dynamic spectacle that pays tribute to Pirosmani’s artistic vision and legacy12.