Play it again, Sammy: The cop is back on stage!

Sammy Tavares’s association with the world of tiatr is a long-standing one as his father, late Theodore Tavares, was a freedom fighter and a tiatrist. His father and uncle used to pen plays, while his brother, late Max Tavares, would help in promoting tiatrs by organising them in Bahrain. “A song written by my father was featured in Dr Manohar Sardessai’s book ‘Svotontr Laddeacho Itihas’ (Vol II),” informs Tavares. “So penning and staging tiatrs, besides scripting and rendering songs. runs in the family,” he adds.
With regard to the new release, ‘Police Officer’, Tavares reveals that it comes from his experience in the police department. “The general public has somehow lost faith in the police force and there is more criticism than appreciation from them,” he grieves. What he wants people to understand is that just as a good family can have a black sheep, the police department, which is a family of more than 6,000 members, can also have some corrupt members, but the integrity of the majority still stands tall. “Not all in khaki are bad, as the general public presume. And among the good and the bad, on most occasions, only the bad gets highlighted in the media. While targeting the evil, the good should also be noted and presented before the public,” he adds.
In Tavares’ tiatr, the good cop and the bad cop are projected on stage, focusing on their duties and actions. “With the good as well as the bad, we’ve made sure to convey a strong message to the audience. As police, we all have to see to the welfare of the common man. Only then can we win the faith and support of the general public,” he says.
Being part of the police force for several years, it was an easy task for Tavares to study and display the various facets of the men in uniform. A gap of three long years from the stage helped Tavares to research his story and plot thoroughly, besides making a good selection with regard to casting and picking the right artiste for the right role. “My sole intention to bring ‘Police Officer’ on stage and before the tiatr audience was to reduce the gap between the general public and the police, showing them the entire picture,” he asserts.
Tavares is content with the cast and performances, as well as the music provided by Norman, Theo, Nolvert and John and the stage sets designed by Chari.
Other than the casting, the uniqueness of Tavares’s tiatrs is the new curtain introduced for every new production. ‘Police Officer’ has two new curtains, one for the rendition of songs and the other to depict the police station. “The audience can get bored seeing the same old curtains for most tiatrs. So we did our bit to give the tiatr fans something different,” he states.
Another feather in his cap is the fact that he is the first director to take tiatr to USA, which he did in 2014. And this year too, he plans on taking his production to the UK in July with five shows booked in advance, besides four shows in the Gulf (Bahrain, Muscat, Kuwait and Dubai) in the month of September.
“We’ve planned a trip to USA (New York and Texas) in the first fortnight of October,” he reveals, adding, “And if things go as expected, we might also slot in a trip to Toronto, Canada too, thus creating history; it would be a big achievement.”
Tiatrs are organised locally abroad, but there have never been troupes moving from Goa to different parts of the world. “There should be a scheme by the Tiatr Academy of Goa, with active support from the government, wherein financial assistance is provided to other noted tiatr directors in order to take tiatrs to foreign countries. If that becomes a reality, then tiatr will reach greater heights and Goan culture will prosper,” he concludes.