A puppet show “Esma Starts a Car” is a very timely and important project for me, as well as for children, parents and teachers, who will form the audience and will be able to once again think and understand how important and essential gender equality in society and particularly in families is,” - says Elene Matskhonashvili, winner of the Duruji Theater Award.
Elene Matskhonashvili is the director of the puppet show “Esma Starts a Car” prepared at the initiative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Country Office in partnership with the Union of the National Professional Puppet Theatres of Georgia.
According to Elene Matskhonashvili, “a show prepared for children should be of exceptional quality, sophisticated, attractive and well-thought-out” and should tell children in a “pleasant, calm and intriguing manner” about things they find interesting as well as about ones they might not be aware of yet, in order to “start thinking like they do and to nurture compassion and empathy in them.”
Indeed, “Esma Starts a Car” is a puppet show for girls and boys who dream, break stereotypes on the path to equality, and want to change the world and make it a better place for all and for their families, who are not afraid of adventures and are proud of their children regardless of their gender. At the same time, it is a story of true friendship, devotion and support that will make adolescents think about many things and make their parents to flash back to their childhood.
Art is a universal language through which we can make people think about topical issues. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Country Office has been actively using innovative approaches for many years to better reach its target audience and to contribute to social changes. We are pleased that with the help of an excellent team of professionals we managed to bring “Esma Starts a Car” to the stage and we hope that it will soon become a favourite play for children and their parents,” says Lela Bakradze, Head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Country Office.
The script for the puppet show “Esma Starts a Car” was written by playwright Alex Chighvinadze, winner of the Saba Literary Prize and it is the author’s first work written for children at the initiative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
“I am really glad that the play is dedicated to a topic that is very important to me personally. I always try to cover this issue and actually have done so indirectly in almost all the plays I have written. However, sometimes what is meant is so clear that the problem might seem to have disappeared,” says Alex Chighvinadze.
How can a person today decide whether to have a child or not based on whether they are going to have a girl or a boy? Or how “being a boy” can be a prerogative of any kind with regard to getting education or other life opportunities or even for sharing household chores. And how we should talk about it with children who are exposed to this injustice on a daily basis, who are getting accustomed to watching mothers, sisters, grandmothers unjustly oppressed against in the name of “duties” or traditions,” he adds.
According to him, “the only thing that distinguishes us - adults from children” is the experience gained throughout our lives. It is important to know “how to share this experience with them so as not to sound like a mentor or not to display arrogance - all the “nonsense” disguised as wisdom, which are only characteristic to adults.”
So we tried to adopt a child’s perspective to better understand how children view these issues. And as soon as we managed to do that, as soon as we managed to adopt that perspective, everything immediately fell into place. The questions, as well as the criticism, the form, the content and the play itself came into existence in a natural way.”
The premiere of the puppet show for children aged 6-10 was held on May 8, 2022, at Akhaltsikhe State Puppet Theater. The play is also planned to be translated into Armenian and be presented in the villages inhabited by ethnic minorities. Audience in Tbilisi will be given the opportunity to attend the puppet show on May 28, within the framework of Tbilisi International Book Festival.
The puppet show was prepared at the initiative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Country Office, in partnership with the Union of the National Professional Puppet Theatres of Georgia LEPL, within the frames of the programme “Addressing Gender-Biased Sex Selection and Related Harmful Practices in the South Caucasus” being implemented under the auspices of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and with the support of the European Union.
