State Shadow Theatre “budrugana-gagra” - Abkhazeti - Tbilisi, Georgia

Hand Shadow theatre Budrugana was established in Tbilisi in 1982.The idea belongs to Gela Kandelaki, Georgian film director.

The first premiere of the Budrugana’s performance took place in 1991, during the international festival Les Semaines De La Marionette a Paris in France. In 1993 theatre was invited to USA in order to take part in the international festival Puppetry`93. In 1995 theatre went on tour to Germany and played at 3rd International Shadow Theatre Festival in Schwabisch Gmund. In 1998 the theatre went to Japan and performed at the 20th International festival The Puppetry Carnival Lida. 1998 Budrugana played at the Georgian National Festival of Arts Gift.

In 2002 the name of the theatre was changed to Budrugana-Gagra. Gagra is a city in a breakaway region of Abkhazia.  

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The reason for that is because the staff of the theatre was completed mainly of refugees from Abkhazia. Members of Budrugana-Gagra founded non-governmental educational association Kvali XXI, including film studio Kvali XXI and shadow theatre Budrugana-Gagra.