Valuing the gift of a girl child

Tiatr: Comb

Cast: Natasha Pereira, Netwin Antao, Stefania Fernandes, Edmer Barreto, Jenica Pereira, David Pereira, Nigel Fernandes, Andrea Marques, Priti Parab, Akhil Ajgainkar

Writer/Director: Fr Luis Gomes, Sandeep Kalangutkar

Band: Roy (saxophone), Dominic (trumpet), Elton Simoes (keyboard), Elton Fernandes (drums)

Story: Maria (Natasha Pereira) is in a relationship with Joseph (Netwin Antao). After marriage, Maria has to put up with her dictatorial mother Eva (Stefania Fernandes). How does she handle the difficult situations?

Review: 

Aafter getting two of their daughters married, Anna (Andrea Marques) and her husband (Nigel Fernandes) gear up to settle their third daughter, Maria, who has been brought up with good Christian values. Maria happens to be in a relationship with Joseph, who belongs to a middle class family.

Joseph’s mother, Eva, is tyrannic in nature, so much so that her behaviour drove her older son,  John Baptist (Edmer Barreto), a lecturer by profession and his wife Teresa (Jenica Pereira), a lawyer, to move out of the house. Joseph, on the other hand, willingly bows down to his mother's demands. 

After marriage, Maria is happy at her husband’s residence, spending most of her time in the kitchen garden. She establishes a rapport with the trees around her, especially the unique banana tree.

Regressive that she is Eva is averse to the girl child and when Maria conceives, she demands to know the gender of her unborn grandchild.

When she learns that the child in Maria’s womb is a girl, Eva demands for an abortion and instigates her son to do as she commands. 

Now, will Joseph bow down to his mother’s selfish demands or will he stand by his wife? Will Maria fight against all odds?

Fr Luis Gomes’s tiatr ‘Comb’ focuses on the girl child, with good performances by the students of St Xavier’s College, Mapusa. Various facts have been highlighted as to why the girl child should be saved and why she deserves equal attention and care in the family.

As guardians, Nigel and Andrea have performed convincingly. Stefania stands tall as the dictatorial mother. Natasha and Netwin form a perfect pair as husband and wife. They are ably supported by Edmer and Jenica, besides other artistes with minor roles.

In the comic acts, Priti (Ladli) and Akhil (Ladla) along with David (Kusko) entertain with their natural laughter pills. David displays ample talent and has a promising future on the tiatr stage.

In the category of songs, there are a couple of solos, duos, duets and chorals rendered by Erica, Nigel, Anthony, Malucha, Andrea, Violet, Ashwin, Althea, Annrea, Kingsley, Aestrony, Joynus, David and Melcia. But the chorals could have been interactive to be categorised as quartets.