Abashidze, Vasilii

Abashidze, Vasilii (Vaso) Alekseevich 

Born Nov. 22 (Dec. 4), 1854, in Dusheti; died Oct. 9, 1926 in Tbilisi. Georgian actor; became People’s Artist of the Republic in 1922, One of the founders of the realistic trend in the national dramatic arts.

Abashidze began performing in amateur plays in 1874. In 1879 he joined the Tiflis Georgian dramatic troupe. A brilliant character and comedy actor, Abashidze was famous for his vaudeville roles. He played Karapet and Sarkis Bogdanych in G. Eristavi’s Miser and Lawsuit, Geurk in Antonov’s Solar Eclipse in Georgia, Avetik in Tsagareli’s Times Are Different Now, Zimzimov in Sundukian’s Pepo, Famusov in Griboedov’s Woe From Wit, Khlestakov and Gorodnichii in Gogol’s Inspector General, Murzavetskii in Ostrovskii’s Wolves and Sheep, and Scapin in Moliére’s Scapin, the Trickster. Abashidze is the author of several plays. He was also a director and the founder and editor of Georgia’s first theatrical magazine, Teatri, in 1885. Abashidze’s name has been incorporated into the title of the Tbilisi Georgian Theater of Musical Comedy.