Building a tiatr stage in Mumbai

In 1892, on Easter, Lucazinho Rebeiro staged a tiatr called‘Italian Bhurgo’ (Italian Child), which was written and directed by him.However, the tiatr wasn’t staged in Goa, but 600 kilometres away in Kurla,Bombay, now Mumbai.

Joao Agostinho Fernandes, from Margao, was another directorwho staged numerous tiatrs in Mumbai, taking the Goan stage to the metro. Overthe years, tiatrs has continued to flourish in Mumbai. Even now there arenumerous tiatrs staged in Mumbai that caters to thousands of Goans. 

“When I was in Goa, I used to watch tiatrs very often,”recalls 60-year-old Antonette Godinho who has lived in Mumbai for almost fortyyears. “But after coming to Mumbai, there weren’t a lot of Goans to accompanyme. To add to it, my dad wouldn’t let me stay out late and most of the showswere late night,” she adds. Plassey Almeida never misses Price Jacob’s tiatrwhenever the group performs in Mumbai. But 20-year-old Bonaventure D’Souzafinds it difficult to make time for a show.

Tiatrs are entertaining because of the melodrama, singingand comedy. “There are some tiatrs with a moral to it, but I love comedy!” saysAntonette. However, Plassey feels that there’s more to this. “I connect withKonkani dramas because of the language,” she says, adding, “It gives me a senseof pride every time I attend a show in Mumbai.”

Bonaventure D’Souza isn’t very fond of this trend anymore.According to him, the stories that are adapted are clichéd. “It’s somethingwe’ve already seen,” he says. “But there was this one show that was based onwhich Konkani – Xaxti or Bardesi – was the original Konkani. I enjoyed it. Itwould be great if such topics were considered rather than typical home dramas,”Bonaventure adds.

If not friends or family, an announcement at Church or aposter on the notice board gives Goan-Mumbaikars a heads up about a tiatr intown. However, the duration is what lets down the audience. “I would enjoy onewhich had a lot of suspense that made me ponder or even got me involved in it.In this case, I wouldn’t mind sitting for three hours,” Bonaventure says.

Tiatrs in Mumbai go house-full. “When I attended my firsttiatr in Mumbai, it felt I was in Goa,” says Bonaventure, summing up hisexperience. “There were times when people had to return because there were noseats available. I always made sure I booked my ticket way in advance to avoidsuch disappointments,” Antonette evokes.

When asked if more tiatrs should be invited to Mumbai, theanswer was positive. “As of now, only Prince Jacob performs in Mumbai but thereare other good ones that need to come here,” Plassey says. Antonette feels thatwhichever tiatr comes to this city, it will never run short of an audience.Someone will always be there to whistle and cheer the group. She says, “It’susually an elderly audience. It’s quite difficult to spot youngsters, but ifthey speak Konkani at home, then you will find some,” Antonette concludes.