The Mustard Seed Art Company is back and excited to stage its latest production, ‘Tongue-Tied’, a docudrama about the various languages dancing around us and some of the controversies they generate. Directed by Isabel Santa Rita Vas, the cast is all set to perform ‘Tongue-Tied’’ at two venues, with the first show on November 28 at Nirmala Institute of Education, Altinho, Panjim at 4 pm and at Government College, Quepem on December 12 at 3.30 pm. “The central theme of the play is that it is futile to use languages as weapons against one another, languages are our human wealth and it is worthwhile spending time and resources in learning them. We do not take a kind of political look at the languages moving around in Goa, we are actually taking a stand against that, since the debate about this language being more ‘ours’ than that one is pretty loud around us. We try, in a small way, to also briefly document some of the debates taking place about languages in our midst,” explains Isabel. The play also celebrates many Goans who have loved their languages and created wonderful works of literature and critical thought around them. The play deals, as is usual with the works of this theatre group, with themes and events that are local, yet in some ways carry more than merely local significance. This is an amateur theatre group that has been doing theatre in English in Goa for over 38 years and has thus offered audiences and actors some fun time, some food for reflection, an exciting encounter with the art of theatre. “We actually celebrate a number of well-known Goan writers over the years who have spoken, written and published work in many tongues and have at times suggested ways in which differences might be bridged. They include great writers from the past as well as some who are still in our midst today. It is our privilege to celebrate their scholarship and their love of our many languages, often in the face of opposing public opinion. We also celebrate the increase in the number of translations from one language into many others,” says Isabel. The work of the Mustard Seed Art Company is often considered locally rooted – and yet carrying broader significance. She elaborates, “Our themes are around issues and events that we are deeply connected to and so the audience resonates with it. For instance, we performed an original play titled ‘It’s a Bebinca, Stupid!’ We dramatized the impact of the Covid pandemic on society, a layered impact, yes, quite like a Bebinca that we savour. When you consider this, one realizes that similar responses could be seen elsewhere too, in the world. So yes, often our themes are have universal relevance. At times we prefer to highlight our own remarkable personalities, as in the play ‘Anybody Home?’ It focused on the great figure of our own Francisco Luis Gomes, thinker, writer, doctor and a world figure that we must not forget.
Mustard Seed Art Company Returns With ‘Tongue-Tied’, a Docudrama on Goa’s Language Debates
