Vaso Abashidze

Actor, founder of the realistic school

1854–1926

Vaso Abashidze (1854-1926) was born in Dusheti and in 1879 joined the renewed Georgian troupe in Tiflis, the one that opened its season with Barbare Jorjadze's comedy. Georgian realistic acting is counted from him.

He played mostly comedy: Famusov in Woe from Wit, Khlestakov in The Government Inspector, Tartuffe and Argan in Molière. He translated and adapted more than forty comedies and vaudevilles for the Georgian stage himself, and in 1885 founded the theatre paper Teatri.

In 1922 Soviet Georgia gave him the title of People's Artist. The Tbilisi Music and Drama Theatre carries his name.