The English
theatre scene in Goa, it seems, is looking to find firm grounding. Besides the local Konkani tiatr,
which is still the most popular source of theatrical entertainment for Goans,
very little good quality theatre in English is visible. Trying to break that
reality is a young group, headed by producer Oishorjyo, who brought in Neha
Singh, a Mumbai-based theatre director, to devise and construct a narrative
around the theme, ‘Home and Identity’. Theatre production ‘Amcho Vaddo Pisso’,
collaboratively written and put together, is being staged across the state.
Enacted by a motley
group of nine cast members, ‘Amcho Vaddo Pisso’ attempts to explore issues of
identity, sexuality, belonging, language, traumas, ethnocentricity, love and
realities of life, pieced together based on personal experiences. Cleverly
interspersed with popular Goan folk songs that seem more misappropriated to
lend authenticity and life to the performances, the play steers away from the
hackneyed route of identity issue of locals vs migrants in Goa and attempts to
question the larger concept of ‘home’, and our place in the universe. The
inclusion of the Goan classical singer, Kersarbai Kerkar’s song ‘Jaat Kahan
Ho’, which was the only Indian addition along with Mozart, Bach and Beethoven
to be included in the selection of songs played on the space probe Voyager 1,
adds an interesting touch.
While the play
attempts to touch upon various socio political thoughts and includes many local
myths and legends of Goa, including the story of Shantadurga, Abbe Faria and
the legend of Parashurama, the construct seems disjointed, making it difficult
for the audience to grapple and make connections to the underlying theme. With
measured performances by Deepti Deepu, the one bright spark in this play
(especially as a Haryanvi in the train act), Shashikiran Hegde, Somak Choudhury
and Rea Burman, evidently even the first time stage actors who had been in a
month-long workshop together, have had a good time staging this.
Director Neha Singh
points out, “Our agenda is to have more women deciding in art and thus have
more women centric narratives.” With the majority of the actors being women and
given that the play was directed, produced and costume designed by women, the
intent was well amplified.
With a seemingly
sensationalist end that symbolises the ‘shedding’ of inhibitions (quite
literally) and being ‘at home in one’s skin’, the play attempts to be edgy and
provocative yet at times gets lost in its multi messages and construct, failing
in its impact.
Despite these
glitches, it is a good thing that Goa is finally waking up to theatre and new
possibilities with these entrants. We just hope in time it progresses to a
professional and tight production.
‘Amcho
Vaddo Pisso’ will next be staged at Reis Magos, today, October 6, 2019 at 7 pm
