A packed houseful audience was treated to their money’sworth by Prince Jacob and his troupe in their new show ‘Amchea Gharant Tiatr’.As expected, the main plot of this tiatr is a middle class family tale, and thedominating person controlling each and every move of this middle class familyunfortunately is not the father (Jacinto Gracias) but the mother, VickyMendonca (Annie Quadros). She is ambitious, greedy for fame, money and luxuriesof life. The narration is smooth and presentation sleek. The tiatr is packageof exciting comedy and brings peals of laughter from the very first scene andcontinues till the last.
I do not wish to spell out the story in any measure as isyet to be staged in major towns and villages. All that I wish to say is AnnieQuadros is an adamantly dominating and overpowering wife and mother. Every oneincluding her chauffeur (Humbert) obeys her silently. But, she faces stiffresistance when she gets her second son James (Eddie) married against hiswishes. And this is where the entire story takes a different turn.
Dancing to the wife’s tunes is her henpecked husband(Jacinto Gracias) who is basically voiceless. Annie Quadros though heads awomen’s organization, she is a semi-literate and can only utter ‘red English’to the embarrassment of all. Her Chauffeur (Humbert) constantly corrects herEnglish. Adding further damage to the family affairs is her cruel brother(Ignatius de Xelvonn), an ex-convict. Her two sons (played by Mithun Mahambreyand Eddie) are made of different stuff. And they play their respective roleswell. While Mithun is docile, Eddie is the aggressive and revolting type. Thetwo daughters-in-law (Sonia and Semenca) who incidentally are orphans are thefocal point of the plot and execute their respective roles well as demanded bythe script.
The play is well balanced between a heavy dose of comedy aswell as a fair amount of tragedy which does makes one wonder how a happy familylife can be brought to ruin due sky high ambitions. Comedian Humbert creates avirtual storm with his high velocity comedy ably supported by Prince Jacobwhich sends the audience into peals of laughter. Adding further to thesituation is the ‘red English’ of Annie Quadros which sends the audiencerollicking every time she opens her mouth to speak English. One can’t denyAnnie full marks for her excellent performance in a challenging role, and theplot rests heavily on her and Humbert to come to a glorious finish.
