Yiddish Theater Reborn in Tbilisi After a Century of Silence
Tbilisi, Georgia – A century after its disappearance, Yiddish theater has been revived in the Georgian capital, a testament to the enduring power of cultural memory and the dedication of scholars and artists determined to reclaim a forgotten past. The reopening, which occurred in 2023, marks a significant moment not only for the small Jewish community in Georgia but also for the city’s vibrant cultural landscape.
The story of this revival began in 2019, when Lasha Shakulashvili, then a graduate student at Tbilisi State University, unearthed a collection of Yiddish posters in the National Archives of Georgia. These posters announced performances by the Jewish Division of Musical-Melodrama Art, a grassroots theater troupe active in Tbilisi during the early 20th century, when the city was part of the Russian Empire. He also discovered a photograph from 1917 in the archives of the National Library of Israel, published in The Jewish Daily Forward, depicting a teacher writing the Yiddish word “friling” – spring – on a chalkboard.
Shakulashvili’s discovery was surprising, as historical accounts of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage in Georgia had been largely overshadowed by the presence of the Georgian ebraelebi, or Georgian Jews, as well as Mountain Jews and Sephardic communities. Driven by a personal connection – he was raised in part by a Jewish nanny who taught him Russian and Yiddish – Shakulashvili embarked on a journey to uncover the story of this lost cultural chapter.
His research, informed by his background as both an academic and a former diplomat, led him to archives in Tbilisi, Jerusalem, and Oxford, England. He traced the arrival of Ashkenazi Jews in Georgia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who were fleeing poverty and pogroms in the Pale of Settlement within the Russian Empire. By 1917, approximately 5,000 Ashkenazim resided in Georgia, adding to the region’s already diverse Jewish population.
Shakulashvili’s work culminated in a dissertation on the role of Yiddish theater in the Jewish enlightenment in Georgia. He found that the theater was groundbreaking for its time, challenging conservative norms with plays that explored themes like arranged marriages and female empowerment, and notably featuring women in leading roles. He published some of his early findings in the Forward in 2022.
He located the graves of the actors mentioned on the 1910 theater posters and conducted oral history interviews with Jewish residents from different communities. These interviews revealed the interconnectedness of Georgia’s Jewish populations, with Sephardic and Georgian-Jewish individuals recalling their grandmothers being educated at the Yiddish school. The Sephardic community has since taken on the responsibility of preserving the two historic Ashkenazi synagogues.
The majority of Georgian-born Jews have since emigrated to Israel or the United States, primarily seeking economic opportunities after the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to interviews conducted by Shakulashvili.
Shakulashvili shared his discoveries with students at the Paideia Institute in Stockholm and Tbilisi State University, and began posting about them on Instagram, sparking interest among a wider audience. This online engagement ultimately led to a collaborative effort involving Georgian historians, Jewish community leaders, and actors from diverse backgrounds.
Ana Sanaia, a prominent Georgian actress, director, and playwright, emerged as the producer who would bring the dream of reviving the Yiddish theater to fruition. In 2023, the Tbilisi Yiddish Theater reopened with a production of Osip Dymov’s 1907 drama, Shema Yisroel, performed in Yiddish and old Russian with Georgian supertitles. The play tells the story of Jewish protagonists who convert to Christianity for survival, only to face rejection and a sense of displacement.
The reopening occurred against a backdrop of heightened tensions following the October 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. However, Georgia has largely avoided the backlash experienced by Jewish cultural institutions elsewhere, a phenomenon Shakulashvili attributes to the country’s strong connection to its Jewish history.
The theater operates independently, relying on fundraising efforts led by Sanaia. While Shakulashvili has transitioned to a role based in Israel, where he produces digital content, leads heritage tours, and lectures, he continues to teach during the spring semester in Tbilisi. Sanaia is currently working on a play in Georgian about the relationship between the Yiddish-speaking community and Abkhaz Muslims in a Black Sea town in 1907.
Shakulashvili’s current project, “Jewish Storytelling,” focuses on online public education about the diverse arts, culture, and languages of the Jewish people. He is also working on a memoir detailing his discovery and the journey it has inspired. “I’m proud to be a Georgian Orthodox Christian, and I am proud to work in Jewish studies,” Shakulashvili said. “Everyday I say ‘thank you’ to God that I have been able to do what I love.”
