Willy Goes
The tiatr ‘Faleam Konnem Poilam’ opened with a thought provoking ‘opening chorus’ by Rosario de Aldona, Robert Mendonsa and Valerian Fernandes interspersed with scenes–florescent images illuminated by ultraviolet lights–which articulated the fable of man begging for a longer life by borrowing years from animals.

The story of ‘Faleam Konnem Poilam’ revolved around the family of Joao (Marciano Noronha), his wife Filu (Margarida Fernandes), their son Alex (Darrel Mendes) and daughter Dorothy (Margaret Fernandes). While the daughter, Dorothy is favoured, Alex is ill-treated and constantly in conflict with his parents.
Meanwhile, Alex meets Hazel (Hazel D’Souza), falls in love with her and decides to marry her. Though Hazel tries to play the role of a good daughter-in-law, it does not change the attitude of Joao and Filu, who continue to favour Dorothy, thus compelling Alex to leave the house. In addition, Jacinta (Delta Rose D’Souza), a relative adds fuel to the fire by instigating Joao and Filu to go against their son. 
A well-knitted story told through effective role-playing especially by Darrel and Margaret. Darrel as Alex succeeds in bringing out the emotions of a son who has been at the receiving end of abuse right from his birth.
Interestingly, there is a parallel story of a migrant named Bassappa (Rama Naik) who has amassed wealth through crooked means, and even succeeds in getting himself elected as the local MLA. When a youth in dire need of money approaches him, Bassappa agrees to lend him money on one condition–murder. However, instead of shooting the intended victim–an inspector (Tony Rod) who is proving to be a hurdle for Bassappa and his nefarious activities–the youth turns the gun on Bassappa and shoots him.
Rama Naik’s powerful and professional performance was the highlight of the tiatr. However, this parallel story did not have any link with the main story of Joao’s family. The only faint connection was that Joao’s neighbour, Tide is employed by Bassappa.
The duets, trios and the quartet were quite entertaining and thought-provoking. Robert Mendonca deserves a special mention for his ‘clown’ (solo) ‘Avoiponn’. Incidentally that was the only solo in the tiatr, the rest being duets and trios. The lone quartet too was quite hilarious. Valerian Fernandes appeared the most enthusiastic. Peter Fernandes, Pauline D’Mello, Preciosa Carmelina Fernandes, and Martin Gomes rendered the kantaram well, though the amateurism came to the fore on quite a few occasions. Minoslla and Judith’s duos ‘Cheddva hem lisanv’ and ‘Self defence’ too deserve praise for the issues raised and the effectiveness in the rendition.     
Stage setting was quite elaborate and well-planned. The two sets, that of Joao’s home, and the other of Bassappa’s residence were flawless and well-finished. The script was well executed with meaningful dialogues but the overall performance could have been better. The interspersing ultra-violet scenes received applause in abundance, but their context was not seen in the main story.
‘Faleam Konnem Poilam’ was produced by Shri Ganaraj Sangeet Sanskrittit Mandal, Quitla, Aldona and written and directed by Rosarion De Aldona.