Synetic Theater’s Sensational Creativity, Outstanding Acting and Stunning Production Put Shakespeare’s Antony & Cleopatra at the Top of My List
Antony & Cleopatra
Synetic Theatre
Jordan Wright
January 12, 2026
 Irina Kavsadze (Cleopatra) and Vato Tsikurishvili (Anthony) in Anthony & Cleopatra at Synetic Theatre. (Photo/Katerina Kato)
For those of you who have never experienced a Synetic Theatre production, I mourn. I call it an ‘experience’ because, how else to describe their unique performance style and silent Shakespeare productions. A mantles’ worth of Helen Hayes Awards proves their massive success with their originality, extraordinary athleticism and jaw-dropping creativity putting them above all others in their fierce approach to mold-smashing, innovative theatre.
A visionary troupe with roots in the Republic of Georgia, performers are extensively trained in stage combat, acrobatics, acting, modern and classical dance, and mime for months at a time before premiering each production. In this staging of Antony & Cleopatra, first performed at the Lansburgh Theatre (now the Klein) over a decade ago, many of the original troupe members appear. However, one performer, Irina Kavsadze, a cousin of co-founder, Paata Tsikurisvili, has come all the way from Georgia to take the lead role of Cleopatra. Irina is so outstanding, so mesmerizing, so extraordinary, that her performance warrants singular attention, yet doesn’t subtract from the rest of this crack ensemble to include the pantomime legend, Vato Tsikurishvili in the role of Antony, and Stella Bunch as the very intriguing, sinuous eunuch, Mardian, a sphinx-like trickster who serves as Cleopatra’s confidant.
The story follows what you may recall from the 1963 film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton – or one of the many other Shakespeare productions of this classic. But I promise you won’t have seen anything as thrilling, as contemporary, or as brilliantly interpretive a production… unless, of course, you saw the original performed at the Lansburgh in 2006. I did.
Scenic Designer Anastasia Ryurikov Simes’ massive golden pyramid with steps leading up to the throne’s pinnacle sets the stage for the story to unfold when the divine seductress Cleopatra faces off against her scheming brother Ptolemy (Natan Maël Gray). In this civil war the siblings battle each other for their right to Egypt’s throne while engaging with the opposing warriors. Swords clash and actual sparks fly, lighting up the stage, as metal meets metal and Ptolemy’s gains the throne.
 Tony Amante (Ensembler), Joshua Cole Lucas (Ensembler), Liam Klopfenstein (Ensembler), Vato Tsikurishvili (Antony), Natan Maël-Gray (Ensemble), Ernest Fleischer (Ensemble), and Rodin Alcerro (Ensemble). (Photo/Katerina Kato)
At last Caesar and his formidable army comes to her aid and she reclaims the throne. Later the dashing Marc Antony kills Ptolemy and Rome’s power reshapes Egypt with the SPQR emblem surrounded by laurel wreath proudly featured. The troupe’s stage fighting skills are very much on display as the throne repeatedly changes hands. Soldiers, guards and cronies clad in shiny metal-studded breastplates, leather strapping and flowing red satin capes have at it in a display of wild pugilistic drama and gasp-worthy acrobatics of which there is plenty to see here.
As power changes hands, large regional maps are conjoined and reconfigured to reflect the changing rulers as Marc Antony returns to wrest the throne. Of course, that’s not the end of it. “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown,” from Shakespeare’s King Henry IV came to mind. It’s very challenging to hang on to an entire country for long, as you may have noticed lately. Octavion (Philip Fletcher) soon returns with his own nefarious plot to steal the throne. Look for poison and passion (Remember the killer asp?) and definitely read the synopsis to figure out who’s who as the throne is taken, retaken and stolen and characters die in the process. And you’ll never guess who ends up as ruler. I told you it was exciting.
Inserting the sensual belly dancing harem is quite clever, leaving the fighting to subside when there’s a celebratory bacchanal at hand and a comical sex scene between Cleo and Antony with heads, arms and legs akimbo jutting out behind a short wall. But wait! Jealousy rears its ugly head and the fighting resumes. I won’t reveal anything more or this review would take an encyclopedia of scenic descriptions. You’re on your own now. Enjoy it to the fullest.
 Stella Bunch (Mardian) and Irina Kavsadze (Cleopatra). (Photo/Katerina Kato)
Highly recommended! A must see!
With Zana Gankhuyag as Enobarbus; Tony Amante as Caesar; Nantan-Maēl Gray as Ptolomy; Maryam Najafzada as Octavia; Rodin Alcerro as Pompey; Ernest Fleischer as Brutus; Joshua Cole Lucas as Cassius; Liam Klopfenstein as Messenger; and Magdelen Rose Cammaroto, Kaitlyn Shifflett and Morgan Taylor in the Ensemble.
The always brilliant choreography by Synetic Co-founder, Irina Tsikurishvili; outstanding Costume Design by Erik Teague with Assistant Costume Designer Anya Peregrino; Original Scenic Design by Anastasia Ryurikov Simes; Original Fight Choreography by Ben Cunis; Remount Fight Choreography by Vato Tsikurishvili; Resident Dramaturg/Adaptor Nathan Weinberger; Resident Composer/Sound Design Koki Lortkipanidze who sets the mood with Irakli Kavsadze using electronica, sound FX and classical music; superb Lighting Design by Colin K. Bills.
Through January 25th at Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Klein Theatre, 450 7th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004. For tickets and information call the box office at 202.547.1122 or visit www.SyneticTheater.org.
Synetic Theatre Reimagines Frankenstein And Prometheus With Five Star Performances
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
Synetic Theater
Jordan Wright
November 5, 2025
 Alex Mills (Prometheus), Vato Tsikurishvili (The Creature), and Maryam Najafzada (Gaia) in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus at Synetic Theater. (Photo/Katerina Kato)
In a wonderfully dark and explosive drama, Synetic Theater yet again reinvents theatre’s dynamic with their unique form of physical theatre. No other companies compare. The entire production is wordless – a style their audiences are quite familiar with. This iconic Georgian troupe stands alone in combining mime, originality, creativity, artistry, costume design, music, sound FX, and physicality. I’ve been reviewing their productions for over a decade and this one was jaw-dropping.
Celebrating their 24th year with Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus in a story that requires no specific holiday, Director and Synetic Theater Co-Founder Paata Tsikurishvili and Resident Dramaturg/Adaptor Nathan Weinberger have breathed new life into Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s familiar Gothic creation myth. The title is the original title from Shelley’s book.
 Alex Mills (Prometheus) with the Synetic Ensemble. (Photo/Katerina Kato)
Synetic’s reimagining of Frankenstein paired with the myth of Prometheus feels like stepping into a classic Victorian Era painting peopled with characters torn from the artistry of the painter Hieronymus Bosch, the sculptor Hans Mueck and the author Charles Dickens. It’s fascinating. In this telling, pathos is paired with horror and grief while science wrangles with the vagaries of humanity in a world without empathy to reflect the broader human dilemma.
Prometheus, played brilliantly by Alex Mills in a riveting performance, along with his wife Gaia played poignantly by the sylph-like beauty Maryam Najafzada, and a roving band of survivors survive a terrible storm in the Caucus mountains. Their baby is killed and she is blinded. Prometheus climbs the ice-covered mountains and discovers fire using its power to create The Creature played by the inimitable Vato Tsikurishvili in the performance of a lifetime. Phillip Fletcher, another longtime Synetic troupe member, plays Fire.
 Vato Tsikurishvili (The Creature) and Alex Mills (Prometheus). (Photo/Katerina Kato)
There are explosive fight scenes as the gang challenges The Creature, I thought of Picasso’s anti-war painting, “Guernica”, in its grotesque depiction of war. As we have come to expect from this troupe’s dazzling performances, there are mind-blowing displays of sheer physicality, intricately choreographed dance, gravity-defying leaps and flips and classic pantomime. All the action is set to experimental electronica and CG Sound FX by the incomparable sound wizard, Koki Lortkipanidze.
The entirety of this cast is outstanding in every respect. The production redefines acting as both an intensely physical and dramatically interpretive design that requires a unique kind of performer – one classically trained in ballet and acrobatics, and in top physical condition. Every cast member fits that requirement.
I was utterly blown away by the fearless athleticism expressed by this cast as well as the talents of its Choreographer and the troupe’s Co-founder Irina Tsikurishvili and Fight Choreographer Vato Tsikurishvili whose unforgettable portrayal of The Monster is sheer genius. Vato’s massive size and glowing bald head belie his jaw-dropping abilities in the fight scenes, but even more so in the heights he reaches with his leaps, tumbles and lifts in his tender scenes with Gaia. His unparalleled mime skills, and frankly, his entire performance, deserve a Helen Hayes Award.
 Maryam Najafzada (Gaia) and Vato Tsikurishvili (The Creature). (Photo/Katerina Kato)
The super amazing ensemble includes Tony Amante, Stella Bunch, Natan-Maël Gray, Liam Klopfenstein and Kaitlyn Shifflett.
Assistant Composer/Sound Design by Aaron Kan; Scenic and Props Design by Phil Charlwood; Costume Design by Erik Teague; Lighting Design by Brian S. Allard; Projections Design by Zavier Augustus Lee Taylor.
Highly recommended!!!
Through November 23rd at the Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre, 125 South Old Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22204. For tickets and information visit www.SyneticTheater.org
Synetic’s The Tell-Tale Heart is Absolutely, Positively, Freakin’ Brilliant!
The Tell-Tale Heart
Synetic Theater
Jordan Wright
October 9, 2023
Special to The Zebra
 Alex Mills as Edgar with the Synetic Ensemble. (Photo/Jorge Amaya) Yes, I know you read Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart in high school, but it’s certain you’ve never seen it come to life through the eyes of Synetic’s extraordinary creative team of Resident Dramaturg and Adaptor Nathan Weinberger, Synetic’s Co-Founder and Director Paata Tsikurishvili, Co-Founder and Choreographer Irina Tsikurishvili, Resident Composer Koki Lortkipanidze, Scenic Designer Daniel Pinha and veteran Costume Designer Erik Teague. I mention the team up front because I try mightily to imagine them sitting around a table tossing ideas around, coming up with a mind-bendingly original interpretation of this classic horror story, then unifying their wildly experimental approach, and against all odds, producing it. I’d like to be a fly on their wall because I don’t know how they do it.
For those of you who have never experienced a Synetic production, I promise you it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Expect highly athletic dancers trained in both classical ballet and modern interpretive dance coupled with master class-level mime and pugilistic skills. In this monumentally macabre version of The Tell-Tale Heart you will witness all of these skills underpinned by a dark, twisted, spooky and mercilessly disturbing story – just in time for the haunting season. Hello, Halloween!
 Irakli Kavsadze as the Old Man and Alex Mills as Edgar. (Photo/Jorge Amaya) As Act One opens, two central characters command our attention – Edgar (Alex Mills) and Old Man (Irakli Kavsadze). Edgar is the caregiver for the old man who lives in a house filled with oddities and antiquities stacked in dozens of wooden boxes. The Old Man is speechless communicating through guttural grunts of anger and frustration. He is clearly non compos mentis spending his days in a wheelchair when not throwing objects willy-nilly and destroying everything within his reach. Edgar patiently cares for him trying his best to calm the old man’s fears. After a time, Edgar becomes gripped by fear and frustration – inhabited by the specter of six ravenous Vultures. When they encircle him and take control of his mind, he too descends into madness.
Here fantasy becomes horror as the Vultures mirror his attempts at escape transmogrifying their flesh-eating desires into Edgar’s very self. It is schadenfreude. We cannot help but feel both reviled and attracted as we sense the futility of his plight. The cacophony of the Vultures caws and the sound of the beating heart echo in the wordless silence.
 Irakli Kavsadze as the Old Man, Alex Mills as Edgar, with the Synetic Ensemble. (Photo/Jorge Amaya) With extraordinary physicality and precision, Mills’ keenly portrayed passion is felt throughout the theater. The audience is dead silent too – watching and waiting. As well, one cannot help but thrill over Kavsadze’s performance. His subtle and skillful talents are yet another master class in the art of mime.
In the end… oh! I’m not going to spoil it for you. See it. It’s absolutely brilliant!
The Vultures are played by Lev Belolipetski, Kaitlin Shifflett, Tony Amante, Josh Lucas, Zana Gankhuyag and Vato Tsikurishvili. Lighting Design by Brian S. Allard; Props Design by Claire Caverly and Fight Choreography by Vato Tsikurishvili.
Highly recommended. Absolutely brilliant!
Through November 5th at Synetic Theater, 1800 Bell Street, Arlington, VA at National Landing. For tickets and information call the box office at 703 824-8060 ext. 117 or visit www.SyneticTheater.org.
Synetic’s Beauty and the Beast Conquers All
Beauty and the Beast
Synetic Theater
Jordan Wright
March 7, 2023
Special to The Zebra
 Irina Kavsadze as Belle with Zana Gankhuyag as the Beast (Photo/Elman Studios) With his son Vato by his side, a standing ovation greeted Synetic co-founder, Paata Tsikurshvili as he stood onstage for the opening night of Beauty and the Beast. Paata had been in a serious car crash last December and seeing him in good health thrilled the audience of longtime supporters. As Founding Artistic Director of the highly creative Georgian troupe, Paata along with his choreographer wife, Irina, has continued to shepherd their wildly successful productions since their formation in 2009.
The troupe, which was to star father and son for the first time together on stage in years, had scheduled War of the Worlds for the March slot, but with Paata’s accident in mind pivoted to a version of one of their earlier successes. It was a night filled with anticipation and emotion.
 Rachael Small as Emmeranne (Witch), Nutsa Tediashvili as Claudette (Sister), Irina Kavsadze as Belle, and Irene Hamilton as Marie (Sister) (Photo/Elman Studios) “Everyone knows that crows don’t talk,” quoth Emmerane (Rachael Small) clad as a Goth crow who is both keeper of the legend and narrator of the story. In this ancient folk tale, lies the myth of the prince turned into a beast and restored to his former self through the love of a beautiful and kindly woman. In typical Synetic fashion, humor is interspersed with raging fight scenes, extraordinary acrobatics and romantic dance.
The opening scene finds the beautiful Belle (Irina Kavsadze) with her two adorably silly sisters Claudette (Nutsa Tediashvili) and Marie (Irene Hamilton) as they prepare to bid farewell to their father, John Paul (Irakli Kavsadze), off to retrieve his ship laden with fine goods. Claudette and Marie comically primp and pose, begging their father to bring them back jewels and finery. They tussle over Avenant (Jacob Thompson) a handsome prince who has eyes only for Belle. When Belle becomes lost in the woods while searching for her father, The Beast (Zana Gankhuyag) portrayed as half-man half-forest animal, rescues her from a pack of hungry wolves and takes her to his castle. The story remains close to the original with the addition of the astounding, gravity-defying physicality and clever mime routines.
 Rachael Small as Emmeranne (Witch) with Irakli Kavsadze as Jean Paul (Father), Irina Kavsadze as Belle, Nutsa Tediashvili as Claudette (Sister), and Irene Hamilton as Marie (Sister) (Photo/Elman Studios) To great effect, Director/Adaptor Ben Cunis features some of the chase scenes with black-and-white, backlit, silhouette artistry reminiscent of Arthur Rackham’s beautifully illustrated “Sleeping Beauty”. With this original interpretation there are breathtaking dramatic scenes mixed with deeply emotional poignancy – all with very little speaking. Some of the most incredible battle scenes you’ll ever witness in a theater come from the creative minds of Co-Director and Fight Choreographer Vato Tsikurishvili and Choreographer Irina Tsikurishvili.
I must confess I was particularly taken by Gankhuyag as The Beast. His terrifying entrance morphing seamlessly into a kind and caring lover, is both haunting and memorable and notable too is Small in the role of Emmerlane who held the audience captive as her speaking role predicated the story line. In the fight scenes both Synetic alum Philip Fletcher as Magnificent and Jacob Thompson as Avenant were utterly captivating with their dead falls and eye-popping leaps that catapulted the duo across the stage to audible gasps from the appreciative audience.
We all need fairy tales and this one is immortal. Not for children, but teens and adults will love it. Highly recommended.
 Irina Kavsadze as Belle with Zana (Photo/Elman Studios) Ensemble members Osama Ashour and Lev Belolipetski.
Co-Adaptor, Peter Cunis; Original Music by Clint Herring and Andrew Gerlicher; Puppet Designer, Zana Gankhuyag; Original Costume Designer, Kendra Rai; Remount Costume Designer, Delaney Theisz.
Through April 2nd at Synetic Theater at Crystal City, 1800 South Bell Street, Arlington, VA 22202. For tickets and information visit www.SyneticTheater.org or call the box office at 703 824-8060 x 117.
A Wintery Fable Enchants All Ages at Synetic Theater
Synetic Theater
Jordan Wright
December 2, 2022
Special to The Zebra
Drawing on a centuries-old fable, Director and Helen Hayes Award-winning Choreographer, Irina Tsikurishvili, channels the troupe’s earliest performance experiences in America when they worked strictly in the grand tradition of mime. The Snow Maiden harkens back to those times with a wordless and original interpretation of the classic tale which inspired Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen to write “The Little Match Girl”. Thankfully, this newly minted version is a charming story that leaves out the darker themes of earlier versions. This enchanting two-hander features a boy who lives by himself in a tiny cottage in the woods and a little girl with magical powers who represents the traditional granddaughter of Grandfather Frost.
Set to a background of Christmas carols (I heard “O Tannenbaum”, “Noël” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”) and classical music, the boy (played by Vato Tsikurishvili) builds a snow maiden (Maryam Najafzada – a leading light in the Azerbaijan Ballet Theater) who amid a forest of towering, snow-covered pine trees, springs to life. Together they explore the frozen forest making snow angels, having snowball fights, and playing hide and seek.
 Maryam Najafzada as Snow Maiden and Vato Tsikurishvili as The Boy (Photo/Michael Butcher) In a particularly beautiful scene, the little girl teaches the boy how to ice skate. Their gliding motions, enhanced with spectacular over the shoulder lifts, spins and flips put me in mind of Olympic skaters Torvill and Dean who revolutionized ice dance. But they were on ice! not on a wooden stage. It boggles the mind how these two performers convince us they are skating on ice. Glittering stars in a dark blue night sky lead us to dream of the holidays in snow-laden forests and the possibilities that wishes can come true if we believe.
A wintery jewel box of a production that springs to life just when we need it most. Ideally suited for children and the grownups who take them.
Highly recommended.
 Maryam Najafzada as Snow Maiden and Vato Tsikurishvili as The Boy (Photo/Michael Butcher) Resident Composer Koki Lortkipanidze; Production Designer Aleksandr Shiriaev; Costume Designer Kasey Brown; Lighting Designer Peter Leibold VI; Technical Director Phil Charlwood; Sound Engineer Matthew Datcher.
Through December 23rd at Synetic Theatre, 1800 S. Bell Street, Arlington, VA 22202. For tickets and information contact the box office at 703 824-8060 x 117 or visit www.SyneticTheater.org
Dracula
Synetic Theater
Jordan Wright
October 18, 2022
Special to The Zebra
 Pablo Guillen as Dr. Seward, Philip Fletcher as Holmwood, and Renata Loman as Van Helsing, with Rachael Small (floor, center) as Lucy. (Photo/Chris Ferenzi) Just in time for us to get our spooky senses aroused for Halloween season, Synetic stages a revival of one of their classics. The opening, wherein Count Dracula vanquishes the Turks to defend his Transylvanian homeland in a sensory-explosive battle, may be one of the company’s most spectacular. Known for their magnificent fight scenes (performers are trained in fight choreography), this one is an explosion of dramatic warfare unleashed from the depths of depravity. Underscored by eerie narration, a terrifying demon spirit and a trio of Dracula’s wives undulating to the strains of Gregorian choirs and electronika, English solicitor, Jonathan Harker travels via coach to the Count’s castle to obtain Dracula’s signature in a land deal. He is led by the Count’s three wives who transmogrify into Harker’s horses spiriting him away to his doom.
 Dan Istrate as Dracula and Jacob Thompson as Jonathan Harker. (Photo/Chris Ferenzi) When Harker returns to his lover, Mina, in Edwardian London, we find the female vampires mingling with London society at a grand ball replete with a dance of the coffins and with the prime intention of, oh, well, let’s just say what you were already thinking, biting their necks and turning them into future vampires. In a scene straight from the Theatre of the Absurd, they capture Mina’s friend, the beautiful and feisty Lucy, absconding her body back to the castle and the lustful Count who finds her to his “taste”.
Ghouls and grave hunters pepper the sinister landscape as the blood-thirsty vampires follow their sexual desires in a dizzying whirlwind of fantastic dance and dramatic displays of mortal combat. Lighting too plays a key role. You’ll notice scenes lit as though in an Old Dutch masterpiece with shafts of golden light falling on the victims as though they are bathed in heavenly rapture.
 Dan Istrate as Dracula and Rachael Small as Lucy. (Photo/Chris Ferenzi) Who will be Dracula’s next victim and who will be saved from his sanguineous clutches is the burning question for zombie lovers to deduce. Meanwhile, you will most assuredly find a lot to “chew on” in this seductively mordant interpretation of Bram Stoker’s classic tale rendered as erotically salacious as it is bloodthirsty.
Most assuredly NOT for the kiddies, although there is a smattering of oddly out of place tongue-in-cheek humor that tends to disrupt the ghoulish vibe.
 Dan Istrate as Dracula. (Photo/Chris Ferenzi) Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili; Choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili; Fight Choreography by Vato Tsikurishvili; Assistant Director and Sound Design by Irakli Kavsadze; Adapted by Nathan Weinberger; Resident Composer Koki Lortkipanidze; Costumes Designed by Kendra Rai; Lighting Design by Ian Claar.
Starring Dan Istrate as Dracula; Jacob Thompson as Jonathan Harker; Renata Loman as Van Helsing; Nutsa Tediashvili as Mina; Rachael Small as Lucy; Philip Fletcher as Holmwood; Irakli Kavsadze as Renfield; Pablo Guillen as Dr. Seward; Justin J. Bell as Quincey; Lev Belolipetski as Captain; Rodin Ruiz as Villager; Maryam Najafzada as Dracula’s Wife; Irene Hamilton as Dracula’s Wife; and Anna Tsikurishvili as Dracula’s Wife.
Through November 6th at Synetic Theater at National Landing, 1800 South Bell Street, Arlington, VA 22202. For tickets and information visit www.Synetictheater.org or call the box office at 703 824-8060.
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