In the past, especially in the 80s and 90s, tiatrs penned and directed by noted tiatrists from Mumbai would come to Goa occasionally and limited shows scheduled in Goa would be enjoyed by tiatr lovers. A little later, several tiatrs by the Goan tiatr directors found entry in the Gulf through various organisers and the Goans settled in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and
other neighbouring countries enjoyed them.
For Goans settled abroad, tiatr was and still is the only live entertainment. And the community eagerly waits for an opportunity to make a dash to the auditorium and enjoy relaxation of the mind and soul.
There was a period of time when tiatrs would be staged in full swing in the Gulf in different seasons. After the booking was made by the respective organisers, the tiatr directors from Goa along with their troupe would get ready to make a trip abroad.
But now, the steep decline of tiatrs is witnessed in the Gulf countries and their demand has mounted in European countries. In recent months, many tiatr directors have taken their productions to the UK and returned home after successful shows there. Of late, new productions are mushrooming in the UK from tiatr directors settled there. As there are a good number of tiatrists, singers and actors, working in the UK, selecting them and staging a tiatr has become very handy.
Earlier, for want of singers and actors, a handful of talented artistes, especially singers and musicians, would be picked up from Goa by the tiatr director and after adding them to his existing cast abroad, stage his shows in UK. But now that trend is slowly changing and with the entire cast easily available there, penning and staging shows have become much more convenient.
Recently, comedian Agostinho penned and staged his new tiatr ‘Past is Past’ at three different venues in UK, namely Wembley, Southall and Swindon and his tiatr was well accepted by the Goan diaspora. With Mathew, Salu de Loutulim, Jesba and Andrea in the main cast and comedian Janet, Luis, Swizel and the director for the comic acts and Nicky, Greg, Anthony, Bunty and Andrew as singers, he plans to stage it at Reading, Bridgewater, Scotland and Paris.
While making plans to get his new production to Goa in January 2024, comedian Agostinho reveals, “When you give a good product to your customer, it will be accepted wholeheartedly and there can be no compromise over it.”
As writer and director, comedian Agostinho confessed that he had no difficulty in tracking his cast as there were a good number of his old artistes already settled in the UK. “Most of the artistes who were there in my tiatr ‘Police’ are here with me. So the only task in hand was handing over the script, rehearsing and getting ready for staging of shows,” he adds.
Unlike Goa, where apart from auditoriums easily available in cities and shows being booked in villages, the venues are quite different in the UK. “There are only a few auditoriums available at different places in UK and so you can expect only limited shows. But the audience response has been overwhelming, and as there’s no other entertainment here made available to the Goans, the tiatr lovers long to come, sit, relax and enjoy a tiatr to their heart’s content,” says the UK-based director.
In the current month of March, Simon Gonsalves will be re-staging his earlier Lenten show, ‘Challis Dis ani Challis Rati’ at Wembley, Southall and Swindon. The director mentions that the profits coming in from the shows will go to Sr Christobel’s Orphanage, UK.
Another tiatr director settled in the UK, Peter de Merces, will be releasing his new tiatr and fourth production ‘Divorcee’ in the month of April. The tiatr is penned by Domingos Fernandes and directed and produced by Peter de Merces, with music by Framton and lights by Greg.
“There used to be tiatrs staged by the African Goans in the UK earlier but on rare occasions,” states Peter de Merces, “but now the tide has turned strong and there are many tiatr directors coming forward to stage their new productions.”
Apart from several noted tiatrists from the UK, he has roped in seasoned singers from Goa, namely Lawry Travasso, Anil Pednekar and Olga Vaz. The five shows will be held at Wembley (2), Southall (2) and Swindon, besides shows being planned in Paris as well.
While comedian Agostinho, Succor and Janet will entertain the audience with their laughter pills, there’s Salu de Loutolim, Felcy, Mathew Araujo and Peter de Merces at the centrestage for some bold acts.
The other tiatr directors who have scheduled their new releases in UK are as follows: Comedian Jane and Samuel Carvalho (May 2023), Joe Valent and S Caitan (June 2023), Valerian Vaz and Presley Rodrigues (July 2023), Anthony (Chingu) and Tony Gonsalves (August 2023), Dominic Bicarro (September 2023), Fr Lucas Rodrigues (October 2023), Joe Valent (December 2023).
In the year 2024, the following tiatr directors will be releasing their new productions in UK, namely Babit de Zuari (February), Salu de Loutulim (April), Grina Pereira and Geldo Verdes (May), Dominic Bocarro (June), Presley Rodrigues (September) and Valerian Vaz (October).