While a substantial Goan expatriatepopulation was serving there in the British colony, the exodus of Goans in theseventies saw the curtains coming down on Konkani tiatrs in distant Africa.
However, the seventies and eighties providednew avenues to tiatrs in the Gulf region. Kuwait was the pioneer in hostingGoan Konkani tiatrs, followed by Emirates of Dubai, Abu-Dhabi, with states likeBahrain, Qatar rapidly following suit. Apart from this, the late Alfred Rosewas one artist who staged his musical shows in London in the last century.
The turn of the 20th century has seen thegood luck favouring the tiatr artist. They are now frequent flyers to Europe tostage their shows in London and its neighbouring countries France and Germanytoo. For many professional tiatr artists, flying at short notice from Goa toLondon in order to stage a performance is now as simple as commuting betweenMargao and Mapusa.
Releasing a tiatr in London or Paris wouldhave perhaps been a distant dream a decade ago. But the winds of progressivechange are currently sweeping across the Konkani tiatr stage. There arededicated Goan tiatr ‘contractors’ in the United Kingdom who painstakinglystage Konkani tiatrs on the weekend, owing to the growing population of Goanexpatriates. Several tiatr playwrights and directors have now had the privilegeof premiering their tiatr shows in distant London among the Goan expatriatesinstead of Mumbai or the Middle East. The latest tiatrist to join this band wagonis playwright Agostinho Temudo. He has earlier staged his shows in the UK, butnever had the opportunity to release the first show there.
Temudo is now all set to release his newtiatr entitled ‘Hoi ani Nam’ in the United Kingdom. His entire cast of actorsis accompanying him along with his troupe of musicians who include James Vazand Agnelo Dias.
