Sturua studied under Mikhail Tumanishvili at the Tbilisi State Theater Institute. Graduating in 1961, he began his career at the Shota Rustaveli Theater, where he became principal director in 1979 and principal artistic director in 1982. His first success came with staging of "The Trial of Salem" by Arthur Miller in 1965 (original title: "The Crucibles"). Later, Sturua mounted spectacular, offbeat productions of "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" by Bertolt Brecht (1975), "Richard III" (London and Edinburgh, 1979–80) and "King Lear" (New York, 1990), starring comic actor Ramaz Chkhikvadze. Starting with interpretations of "Richard III" and "King Lear", Sturua became known as paradoxical interpreter of Shakespeare’s theater. Out of 37 Shakespeare plays, Sturua has staged 17; 5 of which at Rustaveli. "Hamlet" (1986) was staged for the Riverside Studio in London with Alan Rickman as Hamlet, and was hailed as one of ten best Shakespearian productions of the last 50 years by Shakespeare International Association.