11 May 2023  |   05:21am IST

When Poiguinim becomes a stage for plays

Canacona Theatre Festival organised by Theatre Flamingo- Goa, promotes regional and contemporary theatre in Goa. The four-day festival will begin today, May 11, and will showcase different forms of theatre to an audience in the village of Poiguinim, Canacona

N

estled in the beautiful village of Poinguinim in Canacona, the audience will be left mesmerised as some of the best forms on Indian theatre will be staged over four days. Canacona Theatre Festival will be organised by Theatre Flamingo- Goa will be held from May 11 to 14 at Mhalwada, Poinguinim, Canacona. A total of eight different performances from all over India will be staged at the venue.

Founded in 2017, Theatre Flamingo is a theatre ensemble of like-minded artists, performers and enthusiasts who seek to promote grass-root theatre among the youth. The Canacona festival started with a dream of having a theatre festival in their own village, with and amongst their own people. Everyone is invited to come and participate. From 2017, Theatre Flamingo-Goa has been organising Ghumchye Kattar Theatre, a children theatre project, experimental theatre and theatre residencies. In 2018, they conducted a 55-day residency with artistes from different parts of India. From 2019 to 2023, they conducted 11 residential acting and theatre workshops with mentors like Irawati Karnik, Miles Lobo, Megh Pant and Zouzou. This year, the ongoing residency includes artistes from Goa, Bengaluru, Jaipur and Pondicherry.

The team members of Theatre Flamingo-Goa include Keatan Jadhav, president from Shristhal, Canacona, Shravan Fondekar, Vice president from Surla, Velguem, Shablo Gaonkar from Morlem, Prajakta Kavlekar from Ponda, Pranav Tengse from Poinguinim, Amodi Sanap from Ponda, Santosh Naik from Shristhal, Satyam Acharya from Canacona, Mandar Jog from Ponda, Navjyot Naik Gaonkar from Agonda and Swastik Naik from Poinguinim.

With ‘Gaanv Chodob Nahi Natak Chodob Nahi’ (I will not leave my village nor theatre!) as their motto, the team has been working wholeheartedly to make this festival a success. The festival will commence with an opening ceremony on May 11, featuring esteemed guests including Raju Nayak, Dr Ajay Joshi, Fullbright Scholar and theatre critic from Pune, Sunil Paiginkar, Deputy Sarpanch of Poinguinim, Canacona, Kavindra Phal Dessai, Playwright, poet and theatre practitioner, Uday Prabhu Gaonkar, president of Narshiva Parshuram Temple committee, and Keatan Jadhav, artistic director of Theatre Flamingo.

Mandar Jog, a noted stage and film actor and one of founding members, says, “The festival began in 2022 as a tribute to the prolific theatre-maker, Badal Sircar, establishing the importance and priority of minimalist theatre. Last year, we began the stage performance with plays like Zomnivhelle Khell but since we have more performances this year, we won’t have these folk plays.”

The festival will showcase a diverse range of performances, ranging from Marathi Dastangoi, Hindi musical satire, Kavad storytelling, multi-disciplinary movement art drama, and farcical plays, providing a platform for both regional and contemporary theatre. “Different storytelling styles will be explored through the festival. Dastangoi is a storytelling format that implements pictures, poems and songs. Kavad storytelling is a Rajasthani art form that combines mythology and family histories to tell stories,” adds Mandar.

The festival will feature a wide spectrum of plays of playwrights from India and around the world, performances like Dastangoi, Kavad storytelling and non-verbal performance. An 'Artist' Circle' would be conducted by Fulbright Fellow, Dr Ajay Joshi at the end of each day. A collective effort to install theatre in the artistic cog and illuminate its power thoroughly— is what the festival aims to achieve.

“We are thrilled to announce the line-up for the Canacona Theatre Festival 2023, which promises to be an enthralling and diverse showcase of theatre talent from across the country,” says Keatan Jadhav, president of Theatre Flamingo-Goa.

The festival has generated a lot of interest among the theatre community in Goa as people from Margao and Ponda also travel to Canacona to witness the plays. Different villages in Canacona also anticipate plays after the theatre residencies. The festival is open to all.