Isabel Santa Rita Vas’ The Mustard Seed Art Company is synonymous with
English theatre in Goa. The amateur theatre group, which will complete 29 years
on November 10, 2016, has staged over 65 plays in its years of dramatic
existence. Staging two plays every year, their second offering for this year,
after ‘All Those Pipe Dreams’ in February, is an adapted version of ‘Animal
Farm’, directed by Isabel.
Adapted into a dramatised version, George Orwell’s short novel ‘Animal
Farm’ is a socio-political satire in the form of a fable. The play adaptation
begins with Mr Jones, the owner of Manor Farm, who treats his animals cruelly
and tends to neglect them. The eventual result is a rebellion by the animals,
who follow the advice of Major, the oldest animal living on the farm. “Anybody
who gets power gets corrupted by the same power and the satire is on power
hungry people. It was written during the Russian Revolution but it still has a
global appeal. The audience wanted something light this time so we decided on
‘Animal Farm’,” says Isabel, who directed her first play, ‘All My Sons’, in
1987.
The cast of the play includes 15 members, a mix of age groups and
people from different regions of Goa, coming together and dedicating their time
with two months of practice for the play. “We practise for two months so that
everyone is perfect before show time. We decide on the most convenient time and
everyone settles in their roles. Even if some characters are rehearsing, the
others will regroup and go through their lines on their own. Israiel Sarvishta
is co-directing the play,” says Isabel, an English lecturer at Goa University.
Explaining what she noticed in theatre lovers, Isabel remarks, “Most
people love music and musicals, the songs and dance. However, there is a
section of the audience who are regulars and always attend plays and they are
very supportive.”
The other theatrical delight will be ‘Officially Speaking – All Work
and.. Four Plays!’ presented by The Peas & Carrots Theatre Co. Kyla D’Souza
is the founder and artistic director of said theatre company, which will be
presenting a collection of four hilarious short plays, all centred around an
office theme. Directed by Kyla D’Souza and Tavish Bhattacharyya, these plays
have been written by the best comedic playwrights from America and Australia
and star Tavish, Moskha Kumar, Max Fernandes and Kyla.
The Peas & Carrots Theatre Co. was founded by Kyla in 2013. During
her two-year training period at The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute,
New York, she fell in love with works by playwrights with a distinctive voice
and global appeal, and came back to India with a desire to tell their stories
in their original form. “In April, we experimented with the idea of staging two
short plays within a play with David Ive’s ‘Sure Thing’ and Sarah Provost’s ‘A
No Play’. The idea keeps the audience interested in the play with the fun and entertainment.
Next, we may come back with a full length Shakespearean play,” says Kyla.
‘Officially Speaking’ will present four short plays, ‘The Business
Lunch’ by Sean Slater, ‘The DMV One’ by Nick Zagone, ‘Fate’s Steady Hands’ by
Alex Broun and ‘Photocopy Love’ by Alex Broun. “The comedies are based on
situations in office and relationships between colleagues, boss and employees
which lead to comical situations,” says Kyla, who hopes to have a performance
in Mumbai if the plays do well in Goa.
Tavish Bhattacharyya currently works with the Peas & Carrots
Theatre Co. as an associate artiste. While he and Kyla have worked together
before, they will have two new artistes joining them with this play. “All are
professional artistes and we are working together for the first time but we
share a great relationship and the chemistry is right for the stage,” concludes
Kyla.
(‘Animal Farm’ will be staged at
6pm on October 7, 2016 at Gomant Vidya Niketan, Margao and at 6:30pm on October
10, 2016 at DMK, Kala Academy, Panjim. ‘Officially Speaking – All Work and..
Four Plays!’ will be staged at 7:30pm on October 7, 2016 at Earthen Oven,
Candolim, October 8, 2016 at International Centre Goa, Dona Paula and on
October 9, 2016 at Museum of Goa, Pilerne)
