Georgian translator brought Shakespeare to his country's stage

Ivane Machabeli was a writer, publicist, founder of the new Georgian literary language, and translator. The Georgian translator brought Shakespeare to his country's stage through his translations of English, and other languages, into the Georgian language.

The Art Palace in Tbilisi, Georgia, (formerly the State Museum of Theatre, Music, Cinema and Choreography) has a portrait of Ivane Machebeli by Korneli Sanadze (1907-1985). Machebili is in the foreground with British playwright William Shakespeare looking over his shoulder.

Ivane Machebeli (1854-1898) ‘enriched the repertoire of the Georgian theatre and translated plays from different languages.’ In 1873 Machebeli and Ilia Chavchavadze (1837-1907), a poet and writer, translated Shakespeare’s King Lear, which ‘received great approval from Georgian intelligencia.’ He continued translating Shakespeare's plays for Georgian readers.

Machebeli participated in Chavchavadze’s social initiatives to publish the work of the 12th century Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli. In 1888 Machebeli edited Rustaveli’s poem The Knight in the Panther’s Skin. Machebeli also helped the illustrator of the poem, Hungarian artist Mihaly Zichy, as well as translator Marjory Wardrop and other translators. He was also responsible for writing the opera for The Knight in the Panther’s Skin.

On 26 June 1898, at the age of 44, Machebeli, ‘heavily sick’, left his house and went missing.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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