Experimental Hall at the Rustaveli Theatre
On 6 December 2009 the Experimental Hall of the Rustaveli Theatre will host a premier of the Verbatim Show directed by Alecky Blythe, a young director from UK. Verbatim Show is a part of the Partnership Project between The Rustaveli Theatre and the UK's famous National Theatre. The partnership has been facilitated by the British Council and supported by BP and HSBC Bank Georgia.
Verbatim is a Latin word and means in exact words, word for word. Verbatim show is an innovative theatre where real people's views, pains and aspirations are recorded and brought to an audience in a creative way.
Alecky Blythe chose for her show Georgians who had to flee from their homes as a result of the August war.. She visited IDP camps in Gori and Tserovani to record people's talk. As a result she created an impressive story about their hopes and troubles.
Alecky Blythe says: ‘To make a play about the IDP camps seemed like a fabulous opportunity to capture the stories from voices previously unheard on stage. I am interested in looking at worlds we may think we know about through the media and presenting a side to them we have not been exposed to before.
I record interviews with people, edit them and then during the performance the actors listen to the edited interviews through earphones and repeat exactly what they hear. Not only the words are copied but the very manner in which they were said, including coughs, stutters and hesitations. The technique prevents the actor from ever slipping into his or her own speech pattern and also produces a clearly defined character immediately.'
The title of the show ‘Do we look like refugees?!' also comes from the recorded material, because Alecky Blythe follows the rule to never add any single word to the original texts.
It should be noted that the audience will be invited to stay after the show and discuss it with the director and actors.
Alecky is one of the leading practitioners of verbatim theatre in the U.K. Her first play COME OUT ELI, about a siege in East London, won the Time Out Award for "Best Production on the Fringe." She has since gone on to produce a number of verbatim plays including CRUISING, about pensioners in search of passion for The Bush Theatre and I ONLY CAME HERE FOR SIX MONTHS, about the expat community in Brussels for the British Council.
Her latest play THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE , which shines an extraordinary light on prostitution, transferred from the Royal Court to the Young Vic. She is developing it for a television adaptation.
She is currently working on a commission for the National Theatre.
Note: The aim of the Theatre Partnership Project is to help develop capacity in the theatre sector in Georgia by working with emerging directors, promoting exchange of talents, new writing and engaging audiences in new work.
