Thursday 28 Mar 2024

Tale of enduring love

Tiatr: An Honest Review

| JANUARY 13, 2019, 03:15 AM IST

Tiatr Mogi


I love you is the most common phrase used today. Though shortened by the youth of today as ‘Love you’ the connotation of the three magical words have not changed. Lovers utter the phrase, couples utter the phrase, parents say the phrase to their children and children to their parents. With migration becoming the way of life for Goans, distance has increased the love for people close to each other and as a result the phrase I Love You has gained prominence among phone callers too.

With the passage of time does love decline? After marriage how long does a marriage survive? Or, Is love just an adjustment and compromise for a secured future? Does love really exist in this materialistic world? 

Living a life filled with love in day to day life and that too for fifty long years is indeed a challenge, as portrayed in the tiatr I Love You written and directed by Mathias Mascarenhas. The tiatr bagged the first place in the Kala Academy A group Tiatr Competition and is presently being shown all over Goa.

Script

The script is an adaptation of a Gujrati drama which was translated into a Marathi drama and then adapted to the Tiatr format. And though credits are given to the original writer in the newspaper advertisement, no mention is made in the announcements made in the hall. The script is beautifully adapted to the tiatr format with beautiful cantos composed and sang too. The language used is simple and naturally flowing.  

Comedy

The tiatr can be classified as a presentation in the comedy genre. Comedy in a tiatr should be an integrated in the plot. If this definition is the hallmark of a tiatr, then I Love You stands out among the rest as this tiatr is a comedy treat right from the word go. The two lead charactors in the tiatr are also the protagonists of comedy and both the artistes sent the audience in peels of un-controllable laughter.

Sets 

The sets are specially designed for the tiatr. However the design did not reflect a Goan ambience. Probably the Director relied on the same setting as presented in the Gujrati/Marathi versions. 

Traditionally in tiatr and from theatre point of view too, the sets are designed from upstage right to upstage left and a clock movement is maintained. In a tiatr, the main entrance is on the right or centre. I love You was anti-clock in movements and the main door too was situated at downstage left. The properties and furniture too did not have a Goan ambience, but the properties and furniture kept is an eye-opener for other commercial directors who have posh flats as background and not even a chair as furniture.

Acting

The tiatr rests basically on the two lead characters about to celebrate the golden jubilee of their marriage. Trupti and Ashwin, the backbone of the Calangute troupe at the tiatr competitions of the Kala Academy carry this tiatr responsibly on their shoulders. Their dialogue delivery, nuances, body movements and postures were very impressive;Their comedy timing immaculate. 

In a competition with free and fair judgement both will surely emerge victorious among the current lot both in lead roles as well as comedy segments. They have even paid due attention to their costumes specially in the flashback, giving the audience a rare glimpse of the bellbottoms of yore. Mathias too excelled in a cameo.  

Music/songs

The songs are well composed and sung. Being a tiatr staged at the competition, the songs have a variety. Be it a quartet, trio, duo, duet or choral, all feature in the tiatr alongwith the solo songs. A ‘novko’ too is found which is rarely heard on the stage. 

The opening chorus is sung in style. A duo on London calling, a solo on Goa sung by a young girl in falsetto voice, a trio ‘Dorji’ a solo by a child artiste, a solo on ‘formalin’, a solo on Goan musicians in bollywood, and a duet ‘Besanv dita’ stand out among the rest.

Direction 

If one has to understand what good direction is, this tiatr needs to be watched. Watch the cantos ‘presented’ and ‘acted’ in contrast to the cantos sung on the microphone. Watch the bedroom scenes, specially where the girl hides in the cupboard. See the canto when the wife is blindfolded with a tie and the husband is with his friend: the direction is simply great.  

If tiatr has to regain its lost glory, such adaptations of good dramas is the need of the hour. Today, where vulgarity and cheap comedy has driven the audience away from the tiatr auditoriums, adapted tiatrs like I Love You, carries the capability to bring the audience repeatedly to the auditoriums to watch the tiatr more than once.  

I Love You is a great presentation in all respects and aspects. A tiatr to be watched by the entire family. It’s a presentation that merits promotion.  

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