SUNDAY, JUNE 30, 2024
Pio Esteves
Tiatr ‘Family’ written and directed by Matias Mascarenhas and presented by Matias Creative Group, Calangute, was staged at the Kala Academy’s 49th ‘A’ Group Competition on the ninth day of the competition.
The story revolves around elderly parents, Forsu (Jesper Fernandes), Inacin (Ancilla Picardo) and their three sons. The eldest son Romio (Ashwin de Souza), who is partly paralyzed, along with his wife Velerie (Colisha D’Silva) resides with his parents. The other two sons are settled abroad, one in Australia and the other in the UK.
Velerie’s father Dr Almeida (Dominic Pereira) is a doctor by profession and he treats people with herbal medicine. One of his patients is Romio and he is treated regularly by him.
Romio’s younger brother Cedric (Sijoy Coelho) and his wife Amanda (Irene de Souza) return from the UK in order to claim the share of the ancestral property, but his father is unwilling to part with it as long as he is alive.
Meanwhile, Cedric tries to contact Yellappa (Sujoy Madikar), a builder by profession, to come and have a look at the property and house. To avoid striking a deal, Velerie poisons Yellappa’s mind with false stories and scares him away.
After a while, Romio’s ex-fiancée Cynthia (Tracy Cordo) steps in in order to pay a courtesy visit to Romio. Her visit upsets Velerie, but she allows Cynthia to meet Romio.
The pathetic sight of Romio on the wheelchair upsets Cynthia and she cannot stand it any longer. She had plans to divorce her husband and settle with Romio, but she walks away.
How did Romio turn partially paralyzed? What prompted whom to make him so? Despite knowing about extra-marital ties, will Velerie stay true and faithful and care for her ailing husband and children? In the second half of the drama, which is a flashback, you get answers to different queries.
Tiatr ‘Family’ carries a family story with a good dose of suspense and the flashback wrapped in the second half makes the viewing more interesting. There are tense moments here and there as well as joyous moments to enjoy.
All the artistes have given good performances. As elderly guardians, Jesper and Ancilla are good. They are ably supported by Sijoy, Irene, Colisha, Dominic and others. Ashwin stands out as the paralyzed son and he enacts his role with ease and gusto.
For some lighter moments on stage, there’s Gospar Titi (Matias Mascarenhas) and his spouse Inacin (Veronica Fernandes) and they are good entertainers, tickling the funny bone of the audience.
In the section of songs, the opening is a choral rendered in style, followed by solos, duo, duets, trio and quartet. But some of the renditions on stage had the flavor of tunes of old songs heard in the past. Selvyn Braganca and his team provided good music to all the songs.
The stage sets by Sijoy Coelho and props, property by Angelica and Filomena deserve appreciation, while the light designs by Raviraj Shet need to be commended. Louis Mascarenhas assisted well with the background music.
