სDimitri Janelidze Scientific Research Institute at the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Film Georgia State University
Doctor of Art Studies, Principal Researcher at the Dimitri Janelidze Scientific Research Institution
Tbilisi/Georgia
Idolidze@tafu.edu.ge
Abstract
The role of the architect Mikheil Chhikvadze (1903–1987) is exceptional in the twentieth-century theatrical architecture of Georgia. A graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, he entered the creative arena in the 1930s. During this period, large-scale construction projects were actively underway in Georgia, as throughout the entire Soviet Union. The thematic scope of architecture was highly diverse. Alongside residential, communal, and agricultural complexes, public clubs, palaces of culture, theater buildings, and cinemas were being constructed.
The growing interest in theatrical architecture is particularly evident. By the mid-1930s, dozens of theaters were operating in Georgia; for instance, 35 active theaters were registered by 1935. The number of theater buildings planned, initiated, or completed during this same period is equally impressive. However, it is their designs and architectural solutions that generate the greatest interest.
Theatrical architecture was intended to manifest the significance and universality of the new Soviet ideology. Theaters with capacities ranging from 800 to 2,500 spectators were built in the capitals of the Soviet republics, administrative centers, and smaller towns. Open and closed competitions were announced for theater building designs, and special requirements were established regarding what Soviet theatrical architecture should reflect and how it should do so. The primary objective was the creation of a new type of theatrical building and, consequently, the search for new architectural forms - forms that could best embody the ideological tenets of the socialist state.
The construction of theater buildings took on a mass character across the Soviet Union. In the 1930s–1950s, more theaters were built here than in all European countries combined. Against this backdrop, the theater buildings erected in Georgia are highly impressive: in Kutaisi (1933–1940, arch. Sh. Tavadze; 1955, arch. M. Shavishvili), the village of Velistsikhe (1931), Gori (1934/5–1939, arch. Sh. Tavadze, M. Chhikvadze), Zugdidi (1932; 1944–47, arch. M. Neprintsev), the town of Khulo (1931–1937), Lanchkhuti (1936, arch. K. Gvasalia, M. Baghdavadze (?)), Poti (reconstruction 1933–36, arch. A. Kalgin and Ter-Stepanov), Chiatura (1949, arch. K. Chkheidze, M. Chhikvadze), Batumi (Drama Theater building – 1936, 1939, 1946–1952, arch. L. Teplitsky; Summer Theater – 1947–48, arch. K. Javakhishvili, B. Kirakosyan), Ozurgeti (1934–35, arch. V. Kadeishvili; 1949, 1961, arch. K. Chkheidze), Sukhumi (1952, arch. M. Chhikvadze), and others.
Thus, within a short span of time, three major theater buildings were designed in Georgia by Mikheil Chhikvadze or with his participation: the drama theaters in Gori (1938, together with Sh. Tavadze), Chiatura (1949, together with architect K. Chkheidze), and Sukhumi (1952, together with K. Chkheidze). This paper examines how the distinctive characteristics of the era were reflected in these specific architectural examples, what sets them apart, and what role these structures played in the subsequent transformation of theatrical architecture.
Keywords: Mikheil Chkhikvadze, theater, theater architecture, Chiatura Theater, Gori Theater, Sukhumi Theater.