By WILLY GOES
Suffering and sacrifice is an inevitable part of life. ‘Teag’, penned by Derrick D’Mello and staged at the 37th Tiatr Competition at Kala Academy gave an insight into the limit of suffering, sacrifices and loss one can go through.
The story shows the situation through when children go through when they lose their father, in an accident, and are going to be separated from their mother too, as she is fighting cancer and her life is unpredictable. The parish priest helps find foster parents for the orphaned children. The youngest girl is adopted by a doctor while the eldest girl is adopted by an elderly person, Mr Alfred. The boy is physically challenged, so nobody wants to adopt him. Incidentally, there is a relationship between the two foster parents. The tumultuous relationship between the two is solved when Fr. Joe brings peace between them.
Domnic Araujo, a veteran of the tiatr competitions was at his best as Roni. Many among the audience mistook Derrick D’Mello for a real priest, owing to his flawless performance and clear diction of Konkani, the way priests speak. Sabina Fernandes as Maria, Shenaya Pereira as Flavia, Cameron Fernandes as Savio and the barely two years old Valanka Dias as baby Phildena pulled at the heartstrings of the audiences. Leslie D’Souza as Pasku and Steffi Pereira as Claudin contributed to the comedy part quite well. Jack D’Souza as Dr William, Jovi Braganza as Susan, Joaquim Marques as Alfred, Agnelo Pereira as Dr Silva, Conny Pereira as the Inspector, Mario Fernandes as Seby and Judy Braganza as the nurse supported the performance well. Govind Shirodkar paced the act appropriately giving justice to Derrick D’Mello’s script. There were a few instances where the pace slowed down, but it recovered subsequently. The scene where the to-be foster parents come to take custody of baby Phildena, and when the tiny tot frees herself from her foster parent’s grasp only to run towards Maria, her mother saw the audience melt with emotions.
The kantar Sant Anton by Cameron Fernandes was applauded. The lyrics of the kantaram were good. Good compositions and good renditions. Steffie Pereira, Joana and Judy Braganza, Shenaya Pereira, Delaila Fernandes, Joaquim Marques, Conny Pereira, Anthony and Jack D’Souza rendered the solos, duos, duets, trios and a quartet with good timing and pitch. Francisco X. Azavedo a.k.a. Putush in the tiatr circles provided quality music.
The set design by Kamlakant Chari was interesting as it was unconventional. The concept of the conventional entry into the living room from the rear end of the set was reversed. The actors entered the living room from the audience end. A grotto of Our Lady and the exterior scenery occupied a part of the stage giving it a different look. Dhananjay Palkar handled the lights well while the background music by Vikas Chopdekar enhanced the atmosphere of the scenes. Maria Pereira and Sainath Pujari worked on costumes and makeup respectively. Overall it was an emotionally charged performance.