In Tbilisi, actors are leaving the New Theatre after a banner with a convicted colleague’s portrait was removed
In Tbilisi, actors are quitting the New Theatre in protest
Eight leading actors have left the Vaso Abashidze New Theatre in Tbilisi in protest after a banner with the portrait of their colleague, actor Andro Chichinadze, was removed from the building.
Chichinadze was sentenced in September 2025 to two years in prison for taking part in pro-European protests and was convicted of organizing or participating in group actions that disrupt public order. He was among dozens detained during ongoing protests that began after the ruling Georgian Dream announced a pause in Georgia’s EU integration process on Nov 28, 2024.
Actors Kakha Kintsurashvili, Eka Demetradze, Giviko Baratashvili, Nanka Kalatozishvili, Manu Tavadze, Dato Beshitaishvili, Luka Japaridze and Taso Chanturia have left the Vaso Abashidze New Theatre.
They posted similar statements on social media saying: “As of today, I am no longer an actor of the Vaso Abashidze State Professional Theatre of Musical Comedy and Drama.”
What happened
The New Theatre is located in central Tbilisi on Agmashenebeli Avenue. For more than a year, a large banner on its facade expressed support for actor Andro Chichinadze.
The theatre troupe also spent several months staging a protest campaign, touring cities across Georgia with a manifesto-style performance calling for the release of Chichinadze and other protest participants.
In April 2025, the Ministry of Culture dismissed the theatre’s artistic director, Davit Doiashvili, who had publicly opposed Chichinadze’s arrest. Since then, the theatre’s activities have effectively been suspended.
The critical developments began on Feb. 19, when a banner with the image of actor Andro Chichinadze was removed from the facade of the New Theatre. The stated reason was preparations to film a music project by pro-government broadcaster Rustavi 2 at the venue.
Pro-government TV crews filmed the removal, and a heavy police presence was deployed near the theatre.
Actors protested and later the same day reinstalled the banner beside two Rustavi-2 banners. But the next day they found Chichinadze’s banner missing again and said they were unable to determine where it had been taken or what had happened to it.
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