Political theatre flourishes in Tbilisi

Tbilisi: They hop around like bunnies to mock their president, step into cages to vent claims of political repression, and recite poetry at the top of their lungs.

Georgians have long been famous for their theatrical flair, and they are putting it on ample display in more than a week of street protests against President Mikhail Saakashvili.

While demonstrators stand for hours listening to rousing political speeches, the sidelines of the protests have become a stage for whimsical performance art.

Metal cages representing prison cells have been set up at the main protest sites, and another one appeared in front of the grand Rustaveli Theatre. From inside the cage, actors proclaimed that "something is rotten in our kingdom" — a nod to Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Reality inspiration

The cages were inspired by a reality show featuring singer Giorgi Gachechiladze, who "imprisoned" himself in a "cell" at a local television studio.

Gachechiladze, whose brother is an opposition leader, began his protest in late January and said he would not come out until Saakashvili resigned.

Protesters have pelted Saakashvili's official residence with carrots, released a bunny onto its grounds and performed a circle dance, hopping around and holding up their fingers to represent long bunny ears — all a way of saying the president acted like a scared rabbit during Georgia's August war with Russia. Saakashvili has been mocked for his skittish behaviour when visiting the war zone, when his bodyguards threw him to the ground in anticipation of a Russian air attack.

The Georgian army was quickly routed in the war, which resulted in the loss of territory and the stationing of Russian troops even closer to Georgia's capital. Saakashvili's handling of the war is a main cause of public discontent.

Footage of him chewing on his tie before a BBC television interview in August has inspired protesters to hang dozens of ties on the fence around his residence.

The US-educated lawyer — who came to power five years ago promising economic and democratic reforms — has also been accused of using heavy-handed methods to suppress dissent and of living lavishly while many of his countrymen suffer in poverty.

Saakashvili himself is known for a fondness for the dramatic. He brandished a rose as he and his supporters stormed parliament during Georgia's 2003 Rose Revolution. After then-President Eduard Shevardnadze fled the building, Saakashvili ostentatiously drank from his tea cup.