Theatre, opera, cinema and live music in Georgia: what to see and how to get tickets

Georgia’s performing arts calendar runs roughly September to June and is concentrated in Tbilisi, with strong additions in Batumi and Kakheti in summer. For opera and ballet, book through the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre’s own box office or website; for drama, the Rustaveli and Marjanishvili theatres carry the main repertoire, though English surtitles are offered only for selected productions, not every night. The Gabriadze Marionette Theatre is the single booking hardest to get and most worth the effort. Jazz, folk and polyphonic singing are heard in concert halls, courtyards and a handful of annual festivals, while cinema runs on two tracks: commercial multiplexes and two respected festivals, in Tbilisi and Batumi.

Ticket prices are modest by Western European standards and almost always quoted in lari (GEL). Seats for the Opera and Ballet Theatre, the two drama houses and the Gabriadze puppet stage can usually be bought online or at the venue box office a few days to a few weeks ahead; festival passes and premieres sell out faster. Because programming, surtitle nights and prices change season to season, treat every figure below as a 2026 guide and confirm against the venue’s own listing or box office before you travel. We also run evenings built around this scene, including a Supra Evening with a Tamada and Polyphonic Song and private guiding that can include ticket arrangements, listed on our tours page.

The Tbilisi Opera and Ballet season

The Zakaria Paliashvili Tbilisi State Opera and Ballet Theatre occupies a restored Moorish-revival building on Rustaveli Avenue and is the anchor of the city’s classical season, which typically opens in September and closes in June, with a quieter summer when the company tours or stages occasional open-air events. The repertoire mixes Georgian works such as Abesalom and Eteri and Daisi with international opera and ballet staples, performed in their original language with no spoken surtitles required for ballet and limited surtitling for opera. Interiors alone justify an early arrival, so plan to be in your seat well before curtain. Programmes, casting and ticket sales are published on the theatre’s own channels; because the schedule is reissued each season, check the current listing rather than relying on a printed brochure.

Drama with English surtitles: Rustaveli and Marjanishvili

The Shota Rustaveli State Academic Theatre, on the avenue that shares its name, is Georgia’s flagship drama house, with a repertoire that has toured internationally for decades. The Kote Marjanishvili State Academic Theatre, in the Marjanishvili district, runs a more contemporary and sometimes experimental programme. Neither theatre surtitles every performance in English: it is offered for selected productions, often touring shows or during the Tbilisi International Theatre Festival when foreign guest companies perform and international audiences are expected. If a particular play matters to you, write to the box office in advance and ask directly whether that specific date carries English surtitles; do not assume it from the poster alone. Even without surtitles, strong visual and physical theatre (a Georgian specialty) travels well across the language barrier. Pairing an evening performance with an afternoon on the surrounding streets works well; our Old Tbilisi Walking Tour or a day with a Licensed Private Guide can cover the theatre district and help with on-the-spot interpretation if needed.

Gabriadze Marionette Theatre

Founded by the filmmaker and artist Rezo Gabriadze, this small puppet theatre sits beneath its own leaning clock tower off Shavteli and Sioni streets in the Old Town, with a mechanical angel that strikes a bell on the hour. Productions such as Ramona and The Autumn of My Spring are built on puppetry, music and visual storytelling rather than dialogue, so they read clearly to non-Georgian speakers. The hall seats only a few dozen people, performances are infrequent, and tickets for popular evenings sell out one to three weeks ahead, especially in summer. Book as soon as your travel dates are fixed rather than leaving it to arrival.

Jazz, folk and polyphonic singing

Georgian polyphonic singing is inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and hearing it live, whether from a professional ensemble or a table of friends at a supra, is one of the most distinctive live-music experiences in the country, as UNESCO’s own listing for Georgian polyphonic singing explains. Formal concerts by ensembles in this tradition, alongside classical recitals, are staged at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire and at the city’s main concert halls; courtyards such as Fabrika host casual live jazz and acoustic sets on a rolling schedule. For a staged but genuine introduction to table songs and a tamada’s toasts, our Supra Evening with a Tamada and Polyphonic Song runs year-round in Tbilisi.

Jazz has its own calendar: the Tbilisi Jazz Festival gathers Georgian and international musicians in autumn, and on the coast the Black Sea Jazz Festival brings open-air concerts to Batumi each summer. Both publish full line-ups and ticket links on their own sites closer to the date, so check before booking flights around a specific headliner.

Cinema and film festivals

Tbilisi’s commercial screens show first-run international films, mostly in original language with Georgian subtitles rather than dubbing, alongside Georgian productions; the older Amirani cinema on Rustaveli Avenue sits among the multiplex chains. The city’s main festival moment is the Tbilisi International Film Festival, held annually and drawing an international selection alongside Georgian premieres. On the coast, Batumi’s BIAFF (Batumi International Art-house Film Festival) runs each autumn and has built a reputation for discovery programming. Both festivals publish schedules, venues and accreditation or ticket information on their own sites a few months ahead.

Festivals worth timing a trip around

Exact dates shift year to year and are only confirmed a few months out, so check each festival’s own site before booking flights and hotels around it. A Kakheti wine trip pairs naturally with the Tsinandali Festival dates, and we run estate visits in that same region, including the Kakheti Estates Day — Tsinandali, Shumi and a Private Tasting Lunch, that can be scheduled around a concert evening.

Tickets, prices and booking tips

Most venues sell through their own box office in person or by phone, and increasingly through their own websites with card payment; a few also appear on general Georgian ticketing platforms. Cash at the box office is still widely accepted and sometimes the only option for same-week drama tickets. The ranges below are indicative for the 2025/2026 season as commonly reported and should be rechecked against the venue’s current listing, since premieres, visiting companies and festival headline nights price higher.

*Converted at the National Bank of Georgia’s reference rate used for this guide (GEL 2.8943 per EUR, 28 October 2026); always check the current rate and the venue’s own listed price, since conversions change daily and programming prices are revised between seasons. For broader Georgian public holidays or civic closures that can affect performance schedules, the Ministry of Culture and Sport of Georgia publishes sector updates.

Practical summary

• Opera and ballet season runs roughly September to June at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theatre; book via its own box office or website.
• English surtitles at Rustaveli and Marjanishvili theatres are offered for selected productions only, often touring shows or festival nights; ask the box office for the specific date.
• Gabriadze Marionette Theatre seats few people and sells out fastest; book one to three weeks ahead, especially in summer.
• Georgian polyphonic singing is UNESCO-listed intangible heritage; hear it staged at a supra evening or at Conservatoire concerts.
• Jazz festivals cluster in autumn in Tbilisi and summer in Batumi; check each festival’s own site for confirmed dates before booking travel.
• Cinema runs original-language with Georgian subtitles; the Tbilisi and Batumi film festivals are the main annual highlights.
• Carry cash for box offices, confirm the lari-to-your-currency rate on the day, and reconfirm every price and schedule against the venue’s current listing.

Sources

• Georgian polyphonic singing
• Tbilisi International Film Festival
• Tbilisi Open Air
• Tbilisi State Conservatoire
• National Bank of Georgia exchange rates