Lado Meskhishvili State Drama Theatre, State drama theatre in Kutaisi, Georgia.

The Lado Meskhishvili State Drama Theatre is a state-funded playhouse in central Kutaisi that stages productions year-round. The building has a large auditorium with a traditional proscenium stage and stands as one of the main cultural landmarks on the city's main street.

The theatre was founded in 1861, making it one of the oldest professional stages in Georgia. It was established at a time when Kutaisi was regarded as a leading cultural city in the region, and it has held that role across many generations.

The theatre has borne Lado Meskhishvili's name since 1940; he directed the Kutaisi stage from 1894 to 1905. In 2008 a 100-seat small stage and a museum of the theatre's history opened inside. Since 2009, named stars of actors such as Eva Khutunashvili and Anzor Kherkhadze have been set in the square in front.

Tickets are available at the box office by the main entrance, and it is worth checking the schedule in advance since performances do not take place every day. Most productions are staged in Georgian, so looking up the programme ahead of time can help you decide what to see.

In 1928 a second state theatre, the Kutaisi-Batumi Theatre, was created in the city under the direction of Kote Marjanishvili, who staged his finest productions here over two seasons with a company of leading Georgian actors. The building itself, by architects Mikheil Shavishvili and Shalva Tavadze, was officially opened in 1955 and granted monument status in 2009.