Mike Maran's rehearsal blog

Sunday



Nino and Maia with the
puppet of Dr Iannis



Here I am in Tbilisi and we’ve just finished day 5 of our rehearsals in the Marjanishvili Theatre with our director, Levan Tsuladze, and I find it enthralling. 

I spent this morning in a café with a communist, a royalist, a fascist and a priest.  They were having a right go at each other and I just sat there and listened to this furious argument going on.  They seemed very affectionate towards me and demanded my attention.  The priest finally got the radio to work and through the crackles and hiss we learned of another atrocity in the war.  We all followed the priest to the church to pray.  All these characters are puppets made by the maestro puppeteer at the theatre, Nino Namicheishvili.  They might seem an unseemly bunch but they are my new friends.  I find myself talking to these puppets in breaks in rehearsals and we engage in delightful conversations that have nothing to do with the war or with the play.  The fascist sits on my arm and taps my spectacles when he wants my attention.  The communist stabs his finger in my ear to emphasize his point. The priest, despite his Orthodox Christianity which reeks of Byzantium has a blunt four square Yorkshire accent.  My new friends are all disparate characters voiced by Tony and Roger, two of the actors from The Mercury Theatre in Colchester who are working with me on this production, and they are all loveable. The royalist doesn’t deign to look at me – I only see him in profile as he sits across the table from me.  Oh, I like him!



Gus put through his paces by Gia Marghania



That was this morning’s rehearsal.  This evening’s rehearsal was thrilling.  Gus Gallagher, the third Mercury Theatre actor who’s with us here, has been put through his paces by the theatre’s choreographer, and he dances like a Greek God!  No wonder Pelagia falls for him. He is electrifying and erotic.  Mandras doesn’t have a lot to say.  When I wrote the adaptation I was afraid I hadn’t fleshed out the character but Levan assured me it was good.  It’s enough!  Levan had a vision that went way beyond the words on the page.  I hadn’t realised I was going to be part of such a physical production.  At the end of tonight’s rehearsal Gus was drenched in sweat but he looked like he’d enjoyed it as much as I had.  I’m going to have to get rid of this admiration because I’m Dr Iannis and I’m supposed to be dismayed at losing my beautiful daughter to this illiterate fisherman. 

Between the morning and eveing rehearsals I went for a stroll around Tbilisi  with our producer, Roger McCann and we took our life in our hands every time we crossed a road.  Roger and I share a passion for khingalis – a delightful Georgian pasta parcel with minced meat and gravy inside.  You sprinkle it with black pepper and then bite into it.  For a novice it’s quite tricky.  You have to bite into it and suck in the gravy taking care not to spill the juice down your shirt but at the same time you must not inhale the pepper and cough and splutter.  When you eat khingali don’t sit opposite a novice like me – you might get my khingale all over your shirt!

Here's a video of Mike's first encounter with Khingale, two years ago.

The roads are awful – the traffic’s a nightmare – the food is heavenly – and the theatre is fabulous.

Tomorrow we’re going to rehearse the Italian invasion of Cephalonia.  For those who have read the book you’ll know this doen’t happen unitl page a hundred and ninety something.  Tony, who has been voicing puppets for the last five days, plays Corelli and at last he’ll get to march into the story and strut his stuff.

For anyone reading this in the UK you may like to know that we are bathed in warm summer sunshine – T-shirts and shorts.  We left Gatwick wearing scarves and gloves!  

For anyone thinking of coming to Georgia the local religion is Hospitality and regular services are held with copious amounts of food and drink.  The only comparable ritual I can think of is a Burns supper which is celebrated in Scotland once a year.  The celebrations here are held several times a week.  But now I must sleep because tomorrow I have to work.  Ciao!  Mike