Tiatr: Adim ani Atam by Eugene Correia The tiatr movement in Toronto started in 1976 with the staging of Alzirachem Sopon by the late Richard Fernandes. The response to the presentation was encouraging and gave impetus to the formation of the Goan Theatrical Group (GTG) in 1978. Even before the formation of GTG, a group of actors went to Montreal to perform. Many families passiontely worked hard to promote the tiatr movement in the early stages. Some notable contributors have been Richard Fernandes along with his wife Rosy, late Frank D’Souza and his daughter Margaret D’Souza, and Lena Remedios played major roles in sustaining the GTG for many years. Maggie Francis and her son Errol Francis and his family, Neves and Zulema D'Souza and family, Martin and the late Natalie Rodrigues and family. Internal bickerings and personality clashes among the key members forced Richard Fernandes to break away and form a rival organisation, the Goan Konkani Troupe (GKT) in 1989. Richard was joined by Raul Colaco and Auggie Pereira and later Raymond Menezes. That same year, GKT staged its first tiatr, Familichem Nissonton. The actors were mostly Goans from Africa. With the exception of a few, most of them fumbled with Konkani. Despite this shortcoming on the part of the actors, they managed to entertain tiatrgoers. As then and till now, the younger generation do not find this type of entertainment suitable for enjoyment, primarily because they neither speak nor understand the language. The character roles played by Richard, Lena, late Braz D’Cruz, Frank D'Souza, Maggie Francis, and Martin Rodrigues and the directional ability of Margaret kept the GTG going till the GKT came into being. As the KTG grew in strength, it drove GTG into oblivion. The GKT brought its curtains down in late 1990s Now only a semi-formal SAM Productions, headed by Marshall Fernandes, is in existence. The arrival of Raymond Menezes, popularly known as Jr. Menezes, gave a shot in the arm for the tiatr with his performance in Familichem Nissonton in 1989. His limited experience of having acted in village tiatrs stood him in good stead. Besides, his short stature, his sastti dialect and his timid imitation of the late M. Boyer earned him recognition among the audience. He enhanced his standing by writing and directing his first play Adeus (Goodbye) in 1990 under the auspices of GKT. Raymond became the darling of the tiatr lovers -- and has stayed ever so. Adeus was repeated again in 1998 and 2008, the last one rewritten and staged with special effects in a performing arts hall. A crop of young, enthusiatic actors came up in the early 90s. Sisters Faria and Grace Fernades, Winnie Crasto, Sandra Menezes, Serah Barbosa, Joe Moraes, Olavio da Costa, Joe Vaz, and Marshall Fernandes come to mind. Most of them continue to give their best. Going by her recent performance in Chuk Konnachi?, Grace has matured into a fine character actor and Serah as a comedianne. Those who were seen as child artists in the 90s have grown up and hold their own among the seasoned actors. One such actor is Rhiza Gracias. Rhiza comes from a family of tiatrists. Her parents, Agnelo and Yolanda, have been the mainstay of the tiatr scene for the last five years or so. Most of the current actors have a good command over the language, unlike the uneasiness shown by those in the formative years of the tiatr movement. Speaking the language fluently is definitely a big factor in raising the level of the tiatr. If the standard is to be improved further it would be necessary to stage plays written by Canadian Goans. Adeus was a good effort. The trend to either borrow or, may I dare say, steal tiatrs written by noted playwrights, such as Boyer, Prince Jacob, Roseferns, to name but a few, and stage them in modified forms should be broken. Directors or producers here often retain the original story lines but mesh it up with sub-plots that destroys the originality of the tiatr. Such acts are unethical and unjustifiable. Directors should also be large-hearted to share their profits with their fellow artistes who give lot of their time and often spend money from their pockets. A trust could be formed and interest money earned could be used to train young Goans in performing arts. With Viva Goa off the calendar, tiatr is now back at centrestage of Goan cultural life. Since the beginning of the tiatr movement at least 20 tiatrs have been staged in Toronto. Local groups have travelled to Montreal, London, England, and New York. The most recent tiatr, Chuk Konnachi?, by Marshall Fernandes, was well performed with a fine cast of talented actors and singers, some of them having matured exceedingly well. It raised the bar and it would need great efforts on all those involved in the triatr movement to keep it up.
--- This piece was written for the GOA 40th anniversary souvenir but did not get published because it missed the deadline for various reasons. ---- Eugene Correia was a member of the tiatr critics’ panel in Mumbai before migrating to Canada in 1981. He has witnessed and written about tiatrs in Toronto since the early 1980s. ---
