September 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23, International Cultural Centre at 8:00 p.m.
The Rezo Gabriadze Theatre, Georgia
Written and directed by Rezo Gabriadze

BATTLE OF STALINGRAD: A REQUIEM
Pisac, redatelj, dekor i lutke: Rezo Gabriadze

Georgian writer and director Rezo Gabriadze came up with the idea for "The Battle of Stalingrad" when he read that 10,000 horses had perished during the World War II battle that lasted from August 23, 1942 until February 2, 1943. He also read a war correspondent's account that said horses had been forced to keep running even with only three legs. The two horses, Alyosha and Natasha, who have major roles in this play, are expertly presented so as to seem almost human.
The brilliance of this anti-war story lies in the fact that we actually get to know several of the characters through a dialogue which defines their personalities -- their wishes, hopes and fears. In a scene that takes place in a cafe in Berlin in 1937, we see an elegant artist, who is killed while painting. Then there is the philosopher from Kiev who loves to watch beautiful girls walk along the boulevard and to have the wonderful sorbet and bread of his city. But he will taste sorbet no more. There is the gunner from Odessa who loses his fiancee who gave up looking for him when he was drafted into the army. She is going to marry someone who can take care of her. Amid his anguished cries that he has won a medal for valour, he is shot dead.
Most touching is the young soldier who is writing a letter to his family assuring his mother that he is well-clad and fed and not to worry about him. In reality, he is dying in a hospital. The expert sound and lighting effects make the elements of war extremely vivid like the one with the puppets in an airplane that disintegrates in flight as an old Georgian folk song is beautifully sung.
Finally, it is made clear that grief knows no boundaries, as a mother ant laments the death of her young daughter with: "Who will I walk with under the cherry blossoms in the spring?"