Thesis (Selection of subject)

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Formation of the Role of Theatre in a Protest Society: The Case of Georgian Theatre’s Political Resistance

Thesis title in Czech:	Formování role divadla v protestní společnosti: Případ politického odporu gruzínského divadla
Thesis title in English:	Formation of the Role of Theatre in a Protest Society: The Case of Georgian Theatre’s Political Resistance
Key words:	Protest theatre, Georgian theatre, political performance, manifesto, performance studies, cultural resistance, communication, and media studies
English key words:	Protest theatre, Georgian theatre, political performance, manifesto, performance studies, cultural resistance, communication, and media studies
Academic year of topic announcement:	2024/2025
Thesis type:	diploma thesis
Thesis language:	angličtina
Department:	Department of Sociology (23-KS)
Supervisor:	Mgr. Barbora Spalová, Ph.D.
Author:	hidden - assigned by the advisor
Date of registration:	18.06.2025
Date of assignment:	18.06.2025

Guidelines

Assumed Research Method
The research will use a qualitative case study approach grounded in performance analysis and semi-structured interviews. The central case is the protest actions taken by Vaso Abashidze, New Theatre. The reason for choosing this particular theatre is its national visibility, unique protest strategy, and political relevance.

Primary data will consist of coding the in-depth semi-structured interviews with actors, directors, and the artistic director of the theatre, which will help me to analyze how theatre professionals articulate civil responsibility.
Analyzing the full text of the New Theatre Manifesto, alongside performance materials, such as video recordings, photographs, and scripts from politically charged plays, using dramaturgical tools to understand how protest is conducted and communicated through performance. In this case, the study will also employ the techniques from visual ethnography to analyze photographic and video materials within a socio-political context.

Analyzing media coverage and social media posts related to the theatre’s strike and protest to reflect on how audiences and media engage with protest theatre.

The materials will be analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis inspired by Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke's (Braun & Clarke, 2020) approach. I chose this methodology because it allows for critical reflection on my position as a researcher situated in cultural contexts, as well as to surface the patterns of meaning that arise as I engage with participants in dialogue, omitting the notion of fixed objective truth, and re-centering my study in meaning-making through data engagement.

In analyzing the New Theatre's street performance, the thesis will employ Augusto Boal's "spect-actor" (Boal, 1974 ) to explore how the distinctions between performers and audience are broken down. The audience, instead of being passive, is propelled into action through the performances, fulfilling Boal's ambition of turning spectators into makers of meaning.

The thesis will also employ Richard Schechner's concept of "restored behavior" (Schechner, 2020) to explore how gestures rehearsed in theatre, such as performing a play on stage, are reimagined within a protest setting.

The thesis will also utilize Norman K. Denzin's work on performative social sciences (Denzin, 2001), helping understand my engagement in the paper, not only as a researcher but also as a participant in the same protest framework that I aspire to analyze.

While emphasizing the thesis's interdisciplinary character, it will explore how Georgian theatre professionals apprehend, interpret, and stage protest as performance and how such performances operate within the political landscape.

Considering my engagement with Georgia and especially my alignment with the values of the protest movement, I see the need to make my position clear. This study attempts to achieve a balance between constructive empathy and critical detachment by taking a reflexive approach. My role is not only to document, but also to question how the meaning is created through performance.

Ethical Context of the Considered Project
The project involves human subjects – theatre professionals – and therefore carries ethical responsibilities connected to consent, confidentiality, and representation. All participants will be informed of the study's purpose, scope, and voluntary nature. Informed consent will be obtained before interviews are conducted. Participants will have the right to withdraw at any point without explanation.

The research will ensure that no content is published without participant approval and that personal data will be securely stored.
Moreover, this thesis will also include a focus on the researcher-participant power dynamic and include reflexive practices related to data handling. Due to the political dimension of this issue, ethical deliberations will be conducted freely with the supervisor and participants throughout the entire study.

References

1. Artaud, A. (1938). The Theatre and Its Double. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
2. Boal, A. (1974 ). Theatre of the Opressed. London: Pluto Press.
3. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2020). One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in
(reflexive) thematic analysis? Qualitative Research in Psychology, 328-352.
4. Denzin, N. K. (2001). The reflexive interview and a performative social science.
Qualitative Research, 23 - 46.
5. European Theatre Convention. (2020). Participatory Theatre - A Casebook. Brussels:
European Theatre Convention.
6. Fischer-Lichte, E. (2008). The transformative power of performance: a new
aesthetics. New York: Routledge.
7. Habermas, J. (1962). The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry
into a Category of Bourgeois Society. Massachusetts: MIT Press.
8. Janelidze, D. (1983). History of Georgian Theatre Volume 1. Tbilisi: Ganatleba.
9. Kattab, N. (2015). Theater, Performance, and Affect. International Journal of
Sociology, 2015, Vol. 45, No. 3, Special Issue: The Intersection of Culture and
Politics, 234-245.
10. Kershaw, B. (1992). The politics of performance: radical theatre as cultural
intervention. London: Routledge.
11. Kiknadze, V. (2001). History of Georgian Drama Theatre Volume 2. Tbilisi: Saari.

12. Michalovich, A. (2022). Through a Glass Brightly: Generative Ethical Tensions in
Research-Based Theatre. Qualitative Inquiry, 267-276.
13. Rosental, C. (2013). Toward a Sociology of Public Demonstrations. Sociological
Theory, 343-365.
14. Schechner, R. (2020). Performance Studies: An Introduction. Abingdon: Routledge.
15. Turner, V. (1982). From Ritual to Theatre: The Human Seriousness of Play. New
York: PAJ Publications.

Preliminary scope of work

Theatre has always been crucial in shaping the nation's identity, fostering public debate, and reflecting society and its struggles (Kershaw, 1992) (Fischer-Lichte, 2008) (Turner, 1982). Georgia has not been an exception to this pattern, as theatre has historically played a poignant role in political transformations and cultural movements. My diploma thesis investigates this trend by centering Georgian theatre in contemporary political protest in Georgia, particularly through the performative and symbolic tactics utilized by the Vaso Abashidze New Theatre.
Over the past few years in Georgia, civil dissent and unrest have escalated as democratic deterioration has reverted to an increased crackdown on voices standing in opposition to the government. It was against this reality that the Georgian theatre raised its voice, relentlessly fighting the regime, first from the stage, and since December 2024, in a strike. The resistance particularly intensified after the arrest of Andro Chichinadze, an actor from Vaso Abashidze New Theatre, which was followed by the New Theatre Manifesto - the theatre troupe refused to return to the traditional stage, instead, they turned the street into a stage and went to different regions of Georgia with a political manifesto.

It is worth noting that the Vaso Abashidze New Theatre is a state theatre, financed from the state budget; however, because this is the most popular theatre space in Georgia, the theatre was practically self-supporting. Despite this, the Ministry of Culture of Georgia used its power and dismissed the artistic director of the New Theatre, Davit Doiashvili, from his position in April 2025. The theatre troupe stood by Doiashvili and announced a new theatre movement, “In Tyrannos”, within the framework of which it is planned to hold various protest actions: “Theatre is a movement! The stage is a battlefield! Theatre is a shield for the people! Let us defend freedom, equality, and solidarity together! Let us protect the untamed language of freedom together! Long live the fearless Theatre, which serves the people and defeats tyranny!” - Such is the spirit of the movement. These actions demonstrate the symbolic agency of theatre, but also what role art plays in political resistance.

While the global literature of protest theatre and political performance is well established (Boal, 1974 ) (Kershaw, 1992), academic work about Georgia is underdeveloped. Recent studies of Georgian theatre have largely focused on its ontology, aesthetics, and national narratives. What has been overlooked is the contemporary active role of theatrical works in a transformation of political communication in Georgia's modern history. For my research, I will analyze how theatre practitioners in Georgia respond to rising authoritarian trends by using art as protest and enacted narrative change In particular, the thesis will look into the recent and upcoming activities at the Vaso Abashidze New Theatre, analyzing the composition and language of their manifesto, the dramaturgical elements of their protest, and the conceptualization of the performance venue as the street instead of the traditional stage.

The central research question asks: What role does Georgian theatre play in political resistance, and how is protest itself constructed and communicated through theatrical means?

The sub-questions include: How do theatre professionals articulate their civic responsibilities? What are the ethical and aesthetic considerations in translating political protest into performance? How do audiences interpret and engage with such interventions?

The primary objectives of the thesis project are to document and analyze a significant moment in the development of Georgian political theatre and to enhance the interdisciplinary dialogue among performance studies, sociology, communication, and media. The proposed project intends to address the gap in regional research and demonstrate the importance of art in global civil resistance campaigns.

This research is also strongly positioned within Sociology, Communication, and Media studies because, at its foundation, it is exploring theatre as a medium of social communication and political expression. Performance will be analyzed not only as a form of art but mainly as a form of constructed narrative that manifests in shaping public opinion, challenging dominant discourse, and fostering collective identity among protest communities.

The thesis investigates how symbolic action functions as a means of resistance through the application of sociological frameworks to a cultural phenomenon. It also considers other sociological aspects like civic participation, the hierarchy of power, symbolic interaction, and the sociology of the media. Additionally, the thesis looks at the sophistication of the traditional versus alternative media approach to the message the theatre seeks to convey, thus merging the contemporary issues of media studies, especially the emerging issue of performative acts of protest in the modern digital world.

Preliminary scope of work in English