Tiatr has long been a platform that mirrors society and the people’s thoughts and views. It became a staging ground for revolutions, a way to educate people on issues and an unofficial crusader during agitations and serious problems. Over the decades, tiatr has been championed, both by the government and the Tiatr Academy of Goa, as well as independent directors who prefer to function on their own steam and not under the aegis of the government, where they would be subjected to restrictions. But never has there been an all-out brawl on the tiatr stage. There’s a first for everything though. The record was broken on Saturday evening, as tiatrist Conception de Tuem was badly beaten up by a group of people, led by Jennifer Fernandes, wife of Francis de Tuem. Fernandes apparently was offended by lyrics sung by Conception and led a group of supporters
on stage to beat up the tiatrist before he was even halfway
through his song.
A melee ensued, as many from
the audience jumped on stage to
help the fallen and bruised tiatrist,
while others attempted to push
those who were assaulting him.
Then there was a group of people
who had formed a cordon around
Fernandes, ushering towards the
exit. Tiatr, as a medium, has never
before been plunged into such murky waters. Pai Agostinho
and others who held the tiatr flag high would have been turning
in their graves.
Fernandes and her husband allege that Conception de Tuem
was singing songs about them, hence the violence. Conception
claims that his song was about politicians and tiatrists.
Many would recall the incident a few years ago when Francis
de Tuem went head to head with Mickky Pacheco, after the
MLA took offence to comments made about him and his personal
life by Francis. The police were called in and Francis de
Tuem was arrested and taken in for questioning. Back then in
2013, the tiatrist called out Pacheco for involving the police
and claimed ‘freedom of expression’. If that was the case back
then, what leg does Francis de Tuem have to stand on now?
If there was anything offensive about the song, there were
legal ways in which Francis could have taken this forward. But
his wife’s presence there at the tiatr, along with supporters,
only shows that the assault was planned in advance. Two verses
of a song are not enough to get anyone so incensed that they
beat up the singer. Their actions are condemnable. Violence
was uncalled for during the tiatr. Francis de Tuem, his wife
Jennifer Fernandes, and others who helped, have to face the
consequences of bringing violence into tiatr. There is no way
to justify their actions. They have to pay the price for this.
