“ When I started to work in the
theatre, I had one cherished desire: I wanted the actors to speak naturally,
like human beings generally do. Ever since my childhood, I have always wondered
why the people on the stage spoke in a softly style, pathetically and
unnaturally. Furthermore, some of the celebrated actors, who could speak their
native tongue Georgian very well, used to speak it with a Russian accent and
nobody cared because it was considered to be posh. So, when I started to work
on my first production, my principal ultimatum was that all the actors should speak
naturally, as they generally spoke in their everyday life. Nobody objected to
my idea. Generally, when a beginner is producing his first performance, every
actor in the theatre, engaged or not, tries to be very kind to him, they
fulfill all his wishes, they try to make a good impression, they look into his
eyes soothingly… To put it all into a nut-shell, it’s a real Garden of Eden all
around him. But, unfortunately, my first production was not good enough. No
wonder because the cast, dressed up in the fantastic costumes designed by Mamia
Malazonaia and acting in the naturally. This was when I realized that the
theatre had its own language and each production should have its own register
and style of speech, its own melody…
And
then, there came the day when the theatre authorities told me to stage
V.Rozov’s comedy of manners “Before the Supper” transtlated by Jansug
Charkviani into the Georgian language. It seemed the theatre muses gave me
another chance of making my experiments in the scenic speech. You may consider
it strange but I still think that it was the best realistic play ever staged on
the Georgian stage. Yes, yes, I’m serious! Did this bold
claim make you indignant? Perhaps, it did, for it makes me feel embrassed;
saying so, I even blushed and started to pull my moustache. However, none of us
can deny it, for it’s the truth.
This
production assured me that no matter how realistic the play or its
interpretation is, the scenic speech must differ from the everyday talk, as far
as the theatre is capable to turn even the everyday life into a real poetry.”
Robert Sturua
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