At least nine actors left the Vaso Abashidze New Theater after management removed a banner from the theater’s facade that expressed solidarity with their jailed colleague, Andro Chichinadze.
Among them who quit the theater were Nanka Kalatozishvili, Kakha Kintsurashvili, Eka Demetradze, Giviko Baratashvili, Davit Beshitashvili, Taso Chanturia, Manu Tavadze, Luka Japaridze, and Irakli Japaridze, many of whom announced their departure in similar social media posts on February 21, a day after the banner demanding “Freedom for prisoners of conscience,” featuring a photo of jailed actor Andro Chichinadze, was removed.
Andro Chichinadze is among eleven protesters serving two-year sentences on charges of “disrupting public order” during the early weeks of the pro-EU rallies that began on November 28, 2024. Following his arrest, the theater and its director became prominent voices in anti-government protests, staging a strike and organizing visually charged protest performances both in Tbilisi and beyond. In April 2025, the Ministry of Culture dismissed Davit Doiashvili, the theater’s then-head, from his managerial position.
The banner was first taken down on February 19 ahead of filming for a musical television project by the pro-government TV channel Rustavi 2, which reportedly did not want the message to appear in its footage. The removal was met with protests from the actors, including those who later left the theater.
They reinstalled the banner in a different location on the facade, where it remained alongside promotional banners for Rustavi 2. On the morning of February 20, however, the banner was removed again and could not be located, according to theater staff.
Chichinadze’s mother, Lika Guncadze, thanked the actors for their solidarity. “Thank you for your dignity! Thank you for the struggle! Thank you for the friendship. Thank you for existing!” Guncadze wrote on Facebook. “I am very nervous and at the same time very proud.”
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