TBILISI INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THEATRE

For the eighteenth year running, the International Program of the Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre presents some of the finest productions in contemporary theatre—featuring theatre stars and creators whose vision, artistic depth, and aesthetic sensibility are truly distinctive and exceptional.

This year, the festival will take place in the summer rather than the autumn. Performances will begin on 13 June and continue until 12 July, while the Georgian showcase will remain in September.

Since its founding, the festival has featured two main sections: the International Program and the Georgian Program. This year, the NEW Program has also been revived. The festival consistently showcases both the “stars” of world theatre and exciting new artists and developments. Over the years, its guests have included figures such as Robert Wilson, Eimuntas Nekrošius, Robert Lepage, Daito Manabe, Giorgio Strehler, Akram Khan, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Silviu Purcărete, Jan Fabre, and many others.

13–14 June — Elizabeth Costello

Director: Krzysztof Warlikowski

Nowy Teatr, Poland

Elizabeth Costello, a character created by South African Nobel Prize-winning writer J. M. Coetzee, serves as a kind of alter ego for the author—a figure who speaks on his behalf and responds to the criticism and outrage of readers and academic circles alike.
The character has also become a recurring and significant presence in the work of internationally acclaimed director Krzysztof Warlikowski, appearing in five of his productions. In this performance, however, Elizabeth Costello becomes the central figure—a logical step in a process whose development Warlikowski himself may not have foreseen when he first brought her to the stage.