Det är nu akut och viktigt att vi stödjer Royal District Theatre i Tbilisi i Georgien, som är måltavla för den auktoritära och ryssvänliga regimens olika attacker. I flera månader har befolkningen demonstrerat varje kväll mot valfusk och rysk påverkan. Royal District Theatre har nu efter sin senaste föreställning hamnat i skottgluggen för regimen.
We stand with Royal District Theatre, Tbilisi and Georgia!
Här är ett uttalande från teaterchefen och medarbetarna om den aktuella situationen:
Statement from Data Tavadze and the team at Royal District Theatre •
We want to inform you of our current situation and express our hope for your support.
As you know, we have been actively engaged in the protest movement, standing at the forefront of the resistance for 160 days. We are now facing a severe attack from both the government-controlled media and members of the Church, who seek to anathematise us following the unlawful recording and broadcast of 30 seconds from our performance of LIBERTÉ at the Royal District Theatre. The footage, which includes a half-naked actor, has been aired hourly over the past three days.
The Patriarchate of Georgia now threatens to excommunicate us, which emboldens extremist groups to act against us with impunity. We have been subjected to false accusations, misrepresentation, and public denunciation—not through open dialogue, but through calculated suppression of our voices and beliefs.
The full weight of the propaganda machine is bearing down on us. Yesterday, ultra-right-wing groups called for my lynching outside the Royal District Theatre, throwing eggs and physically attacking the audience. Some of us are seriously considering seeking refuge outside Georgia, as the safety of all involved in the performance is at risk.
In recent months, the government shut down the only school for playwrights in Georgia, which I have co-managed for the past 11 years, silencing another space for artistic freedom. Shortly after, David Doiashvili was dismissed as artistic director of the New State Theatre—the only theatre supporting the movement—while actor Andro Chichinadze, a member of its ensemble, has remained imprisoned for over four months.
We are facing these realities, and we believe it is essential for us to share this story.
Please join Georgian artists in helping us spread the word wherever you can.
Warmest regards,
Data and the team at Royal District Theatre Tbilisi•
