The Children’s Tiatr ‘Tacho Patlaudar’ scripted by Marcus deCunha and directed by Samson Sardinha for the TAG Children’s tiatr festivalsent out a twin message to the audience. The story revolves around school goingchildren and their day to day behaviour. The playwright has attempted to focuson the fall out of the ‘no fail policy’ introduced for school students by theGovernment. It highlights the negligent attitude of the students towards theirstudies, thereby leading them to indulge in all sorts of bad habits.
The play also makes an effort to establish the truth thatthe parents should respect and honour the decisions of their children if theydesire to join priesthood. Generally parents blessed with a single childdiscourage their son to join the seminary and go against their wishes. This isbrought out well in ‘Tacho Patlaudar’.
‘Tacho Patlaudar’ is a tale of two school-mates, Daisley andMilton. While Milton displays good moral values though from a poor background,Daisley is a member of a rich family, and lacks in values. Then there are Jamesand Remmie, their school mates who are notorious and who indulge in bad habits.Finally, they end up being drop outs. On the other hand, Milton is God fearingand expresses his desire to become a priest, and has his mother’s full supportand backing despite being the only son. Daisley at one point of time is alsoinspired to join the priesthood, but his parents are against it even thoughthey are blessed with a daughter Telma, who is blind.
Fate is cruel with Milton and he is inflicted with a braintumour, giving the tale a twist. Does he come out of it? Does he fulfill hisdream of becoming a priest? What happens to Daisley? Do his parents relent andallow him to join the priesthood? The answers to this question are what bringthe play ‘Tacho Patlaudar’ to a logical conclusion.
The songs consisting of solos, duets, trios, were of anexcellent standard with lyrics that are meaningful. The band led by MaestroVitorino Araujo was not only pleasant, but provided the young and upcomingsingers in the troupe with good backup..
Haswaine stood out with his solos, and duets. Joel and Glennwere appealing with the comedic duet ‘Secretary’. Steffy, Vandita and Sweden inthe trio ‘Gift Naka’ had a good Christmas message. ‘Mansugechem Nesop’, a duetby Haswaine and Elrica, and a trio ‘Sobit Goa’ by Rachel, Brendon and Havelainealso made a good impact on the audience.
