After rocking his new tiatr in the UK, comedian Agostinho and his entire troupe are set to enthrall tiatr fans in Goa.
With the tiatr, Past is Past – showing 10 venues in the UK, namely Sudbury, Villiers, Meca, Bridgwater, Reading, Scotland, Ireland, Brackley, Paris and Feltham – the UK-based director is expecting a crowd-puller in his home turf.
GETTING INNOVATIVE
In the past, tiatr directors have made several attempts to create history on the stage by bringing in novelties in varied forms.
Novelties on the Konkani stage have included a revolving stage, adapting Marathi nattak into tiatr, pet animals in the acts and others, and with these novel creations, some of the tiatrists have created a mark and lasting impression in the hearts of the tiatr fans.
Some of those noted tiatrists of yesteryear, who have passed away, are still remembered by tiatr-lovers.
There was a period when tiatr directors from Mumbai would come down to Goa to stage their tiatrs. A little later, Goan tiatr directors started taking their productions to the Gulf countries, and entertained the Goan diaspora settled in Dubai, Muscat, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait.
As time passed by, when various expenses surpassed their restricted budget, only the main cast made trips abroad. The remaining, including musicians, would be handpicked from among the tiatrist fraternity settled abroad.
Of late, staging tiatrs in the Gulf countries has declined. Trips to Gulf countries were a regular feature in the past. The best of tiatrs, staged in Goa, would be selected and booked for shows in the Gulf.
THE UK SCENE
Now, with the majority of tiatrists having migrated to the UK, staging tiatrs in European countries, by UK-based tiatr directors, has become the latest trend and talk of the town.
There are several new productions already lined up for the New Year ahead, and due to a lack of tiatr entertainment in the UK, every new release becomes a crowd puller.
More than the tiatrs staged in Goa, there are tiatrs being staged at regular intervals in the UK, today. There are tiatrs staged in Goa by a handful of tiatr directors, but unfortunately the attendance is poor.
And, there is a big fear of tiatrs facing a slow and natural death in Goa.
After a good number of shows in the UK, comedian Agostinho is down in Goa to entertain Goans with his new tiatr, Past Is Past. He has come Goa with his entire cast from the UK, including two UK-based musicians, thus creating a history of his own.
About his immediate plans for the tiatr, Past Is Past, comedian Agostinho said 17 shows have already been booked in Goa. And, on account of the high budget, he plans to stage this tiatr only in the city auditoriums.
The cast in comedian Agostinho’s tiatr, Past Is Past, include Salu de Lotulim, Mathew Araujo, Bunty Vaz, Laurent Pereira, Andrew de Zuari, Nicky Carvalho, Olavo Gomes, Luis Bachan, comedienne Janet, Swizel Almeida, Jasba and Andrea, all from the UK.
The musicians from the UK include Framton on the keyboard, and comedian Agostinho’s son Aidan on the trumpet.
The rest of the musicians are from Goa and they include Senon (trumpet), Daniel (bass) and Jack on the drums.
To tickle the funny bone of the audience, apart from comedian Agostinho, there’s Luis Bachan, comedienne Janet and her daughter Swizel to produce a laughter riot on the stage.