Our Story

The curtain of the Georgian theatre in Poti was opened for the first time on February 17, 1882, and since then Poti has been called a theatre city. On October 29, 1925, the famous public figure Yuza Zardalishvili founded the Drama Theatre of Poti. On November 11, 1936, the premiere of the first play took place on the stage of the new building of Poti - I. "Shamil" of Vakeli. Poti State Theatre was named after Valerian Gunia in 1963. In 1982, Poti Theatre celebrated its hundredth anniversary.

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Today, Poti Theatre, despite its long history, is a young, modern, dynamically developing theater. The task of the theater is to offer the audience a high-quality production that strongly expresses the demands and challenges of our reality. Both classical works and plays with modern issues are staged in the Poti Theatre. 

The State Theater named after Valerian Gunia of Poti actively stages the projects implemented by both invited Georgian and foreign directors. In addition to inviting directors, young playwrights, scenographers, choreographers, composers and actors are also invited. Along with classical and modern repertoire, the Poti theater also follows the direction of experimental productions. Performances are also made. The search for a new theatrical language and direction is underway. The main principle and criterion of our work is to be highly modern, and the main criterion of quality is the relevance-intensity and artistic value of the created products.

Poti Theatre actively cooperates with various focus groups. Actively cooperates with young people. He often conducts meetings where the performance of the theatre is analyzed with other layers of the society. Various performances are discussed with them, meetings with actors and directors are arranged. Poti Theatre finances the studies of students at the Faculty of Acting. As a result, the staff of our theater is replenished and generations change.

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The theatre has a program - within the framework of which, once a year, with the help of our partners and sponsors, we stage a play with the participation of children and young people with disabilities. We perform this play at festivals.

Poti Theatre is the organizer and host of the international theatre festival of regional theatres, which will be held for the fourth time this year. International Festival of Poti Regional Theatres is today the main theatre forum in Western Georgia.

In addition to the theatrical process, the theatre tries to become a cultural center for the society. Exhibitions, creative evenings, film screenings, other cultural events are held in the theatre building. 

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The work of the theatre enjoys positive feedback from critics. Critics point out that today the Poti Theatre is one of the most interesting modern theatres in Georgian reality. We have received a number of awards, both in the domestic Georgian theatre space, as well as in international forums abroad.

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