YOUNG TALENT AND SOCIAL THEMES RULE TIATR STAGE

By Daniel F. De Souza.

WINDS OF CHANGE are sweeping across the Konkani stage. While Prince  Jacob came forth with the Konkani translation of the Marathi Natak Sahi re Sahi and had the audiences flocking to the theatres,  Tony Dias, Writer, Director-Producer too  has set yet another benchmark by bringing forth a tiatr Kor Mhojem Kalliz Tujea Kallza Sarkem  entirely with a cast comprising of ten talented children. It is a history of sorts, for such an experiment was never tried on the Konkani stage anytime before by any director.

Though we have been exposed to one or two or more child artistes quite frequently in shows in  recent times.  The senior professional artistes who are taking part in this show are only utilised for the songs, whereas the children enact the entire plot with several characters.  Talking to Tony Dias after the show, he revealed that it took him nearly three months of regular rehearsals to bring the children to this level of professionalism. Teaching them the rudiments of acting and stage movements so as to bring them to this level of perfection was an effort in itself he confides. Tony has had 10 full dress rehearsals at the Gomant Vidya Niketan hall complete with make up and stage sets, not to forget the several band practice sessions for the trios sung by three young boys. The audience is left utterly surprised as the small children, without the backing of a senior professional artist, enact the entire plot with a thorough professional finish. When asked to comment on such a bold decision Tony said “ I wanted to give something different to the audience and prove to them that if given the right encouragement and direction talented children can be professional artistes. No doubt, I had to scout at various points to look for the right talent, it did take me quite an effort and time. But the results are there for all to see.” The show had its silver jubilee show at the Gomant Vidya Niketan on 7th August. All the ten child artiste were presented with gold medals. It must be said to the credit of the Director as well as the ten children that Kor Mhojem Kalliz Tujea kallza Sarkem is a show worth seeing for its sheer performance by the young talents, who are flawless and confident in their respective roles.  It has a good message too.

The make-up man X’Mas (Xavier Mascarenhas) has really done a good job with the paint to give the desired character appearance to the children as they play grown up adults in the play.  Shruti Naik, Hazel Gonsalves, Josanta Fernandes, Felcy, Unisia D’Silva, Aliston Colaco, Frankey Oliveiro, Royston Noel, Charlston and Jesus are the ten child artistes who hold the audience under their spell for three long hours.

Special mention however needs to be made of the two trios sung by Royston-Aliston-Frankey. They are exceptionally good and keep good timing, have good style and combine extremely well. The two trios sung by them were unique and were well received by the audience, the trio on the Eunuchs was a resounding hit and displayed the singing talent of these blooming buds. These three young boys should be encouraged and groomed to continue with the combination, for they certainly are an asset to the stage and are sure of going places. Among the senior artists Xavier Gomes sings two beautiful solos, Bab Andrew and Menino Mario too . Shruti  and  Josanta sing two special solos. The solo sung by Shruti is good and needs a good sense of timing. The comedy relief is provided by seasoned comedians Sally and Ambe. They are good and natural with their respective roles. Sally especially is great playing three different roles. They are well supported by Philip Almeida and Aurelio.  The light effects by Baltazar are  well co-ordinated. The music score is very punchy with Antu Bab on 1st trumpet and Carlito on the 2nd trumpet with Norman on  the Keyboards and John on drums. See this show with your kids, for its something different.

UGDDAS
THE RISING incidence of rapes in Goa in recent years has perhaps inspired  Writer Director, John D’Silva, to pen his thought provoking story ‘UGDDAS’ in a tiatr format. ‘UGDDAS’  deals with the sad plight of an innocent girl who is the victim of the lustful desires of a drunken man. But the writer does not stop there. He has cleverly handled the plot to bring forth, with a human touch, the suffering of the rape victim. 

Giving a good number of twists and turns to the story John D’Silva  takes pain to portray, in minute detail, the several consequences that follow after the crime is committed. The writer does not dwell on the legal aspects nor the punishment to the culprit but highlights  the consequences and human sufferings that such a crime  can cause to the life of a poor victim.  The fact that a rape does  not only shatter the life of the victim but can also set a chain of events which makes life miserable for the  other members of the family too are well brought home convincingly in ‘UGDDAS’.

John D’Silva has woven a sensitive tale in his usual high standard  script with rich flow of dialogues. The dialogues are not only rich but have a philosophical slant too. Keeping the preferences of his audience in mind, he has balanced the script in such a manner that though he is dealing with a serious topic he has balanced the plot with some explosive comedy, which is a laugh-a-minute-riot on stage from the beginning till the end.

The comedy sequence has no relevance to the main plot whatsoever and runs parallel to the main plot.  The houseful audience at the show at Gomant Vidya Niketan were made to oscillate between the sad and pitiable plight of the rape victim and  the hilarious antics of the music teacher Maestro Camilo (Luis Bachchan), his young and beautiful wife (comedian Joanna)and the three troublesome students (comedian John, Agostinho, and Selvy). Every comedy sequence ignited peels of laughter in the audience. I do not wish to spell out the entire plot, but,  ‘UGDDAS’,  besides tragic, is interwoven with suspense too, at the appropriate time. UGDDAS is a story of a concerned brotherly love; it is a story of sacrifice, forgiveness, and repentance. It is story that highlights the atrocities and crimes against the weaker sex in society and the shock and trauma they undergo for a lifetime thereafter.

By  all counts ‘UGDDAS’  does  have a good message in the present social scenario. The show is dedicated as a tribute to the memory of late Fr. Freddy J. da Costa.

Performance
‘UGDDAS’ has a multi-cast line-up with some big names from the Konkani stage.  Rose Ferns is confident, realistic and natural as usual in his role of a loving and caring brother (Simon Mendes) so is veteran and stylish actor Antush (Wilson Coelho) in the role of  widower. Mathew Almeida (Robert Gonslves)  as the lustful drunkard and later as a repentant husband full of guilt feelings has given a good performance and emotes well in contrasting situations. Carmin as Manisha  the rape victim, has given  a good performance in a challenging role. Comedian Joana gives an excellent performance and combines well with the other four.  The show has 11 songs but most of them on some meaningful subjects with equally good lyrics. The solo sung by Joanna on the ‘Baina Red Light demolition’ received the loudest applause. ‘UGDDAS’ is a good show with a message relevant to the present times. Watch it with your family.

Mhaka Soeg Diat
WRITER PAL SOARES  is set to take the Delhites by storm with his new release “Mhaka  Soeg Diat’. ‘Mhaka Soeg Diat’ is directed by versatile Felcy.  The Show will be staged in Delhi on 22-8-2004 by the Goan organization ‘Goenkarancho Ekvott’. So far ‘Mhaka Soeg Diat’ has completed 14 performances all over Goa and it will resume its run once again back in Goa after the 22nd August 2004.  The show has stage sets by Chari and light effects by Ratnakar. Zacharias Lobo has done the musical scores.