Tiatr: Mogachim Fulam
Cast: Antonette de Maina, Franky, Filipe, Rosy, Mario Menezes, Ulhas Tari, John D’Silva, Janet, Richard, Brian
Director: Lawry Travasso
Band: Theo Alvares (trumpet), Norman (keyboard), Canon (bass), Manuel (drums)
Stage/Lights: Kapil Chari, Tremson
Story: After five years of marriage, being unable to bear a child,
Samantha (Antonette de Maina) lives a life of ridicule and suffers physical abuse at the hands of her husband of five years, Sam (Franky Gonsalves), and his sister, Salomi (Rosy), as she is unable to bear children. Coincidentally, Salomi too is childless.
Review:
Although Samantha trusts in God and hopes for the gift of a child, her husband, Sam, is unwilling to understand her. Despite the suffering and pain, support from her brother-in-law, Joel (Filipe), helps Samantha to carry on with her marital life. But Joel’s presence in the house prompts Sam to further doubt his faithful wife. With the assistance of his sister, Salomi, who lives in the same house with her timid husband Rio (Mario Menezes), Sam ill-treats his wife. Salomi is a person who never misses the opportunity of mocking her sister-in-law’s childless state when she too has been unable to conceive despite being married for quite some time. Unable to bear the sufferings of Samantha, Joel decides to leave the house.
Despite Samantha’s many efforts to make her husband understand, he stays stubborn in his ill ways. The torture Samantha faces at the hands of Sam and Salomi drives her to insanity.
Where does Samantha seek shelter? Is she truly insane or is there more to her madness? Who assists in bringing peace into the family? What happens to both the childless couples?
Lawry Travasso’s Lenten tiatr, ‘Mogachim Fulam’, focuses on childless couples. A good attempt has been made to highlight the sufferings and humiliation of a childless couple in the family and society as a whole. The dire consequences of mockery and disrespect for childless couples finds prominence through an incident related in the second half of the drama. But physical torture inflicted on the victim looks outdated in the modern and advanced world.
Franky and Antonette de Maina, Rosy and Mario Menezes work well as the two couples, each doing justice to their respective unique roles. But it is Mario Menezes who stands out with the twist given to his character in the second half. Ulhas Tari is apt in the role of a priest, and delivers his dialogues with gusto. Filipe appears cool in his character and comes out with a different look in the latter part of the drama. This time around, Lawry Travasso projects himself as the victim of scorn, winning sympathy from the audience.
In the comic acts, John D’Silva, Janet, Richard and Brian form a perfect quartet with some good laughter pills for the audience. But in the second half, the comic act by the foursome drags on for quite some time.
In the category of songs, Janet, Xavier Gomes, Tony de Ribandar, Lawry Travasso, Rosy Alvares, Marcus Vaz and Peter de Arambol entertain with their solos, followed by a duet by Tony de Ribandar and Antonette de Maina on Mother Mary. But a duo by Brian and Richard, trio by Francis de Tuem, Brian and Richard and a concluding quartet by Xavier, Marcus, Lawry and Francis de Tuem on ‘It only happens in Goa’ win accolades from the spectators.
Theo Alvares and Norman Cardozo along with the other band members provide good live music, besides the background.
