Of unwavering tiatr artistes and the foray of women onto the stage

Lucasinho Ribeiro, Joao Agostinho Fernandes, Saib Rocha, J P Souzalin, Alexinho de Candolim, A R Souza Ferrao, Anthony De Sa, C Alvares and M Boyer were born leaders of sorts in the long history of the tiatr. They were instrumental in bringing it to the level it has attained today. But, the fact remains that none of them could have done the job on their own.
In the beginning, Lucasinho could not have laid the foundation of the tiatr without the support of his fellow-artists: Caetaninho Fernandes from Taleigao, Joao Agostinho Fernandes from Borda, Margao, Agostinho Mascarenhas from Mungul, Margao and a fifth member of whom no details are available.
These members of Lucasinho’s original troupe were equally responsible for the presentation of the very first tiatr, ‘Italian Bhurgo’. From among them, the name of Joao Agostinho Fernandes stands out for his selfless dedication and the innumerable hours of work he put in. This is precisely why he came to be known as ‘Pai Tiatrist’.
Then came the members of Pai Tiatrist’s group, ‘Dom Carlos Dramatic Unity’. They were Policarpo Mendonca, N M Fernandes, Anton Abranv, Lucasinho Ribeiro and Regina Fernandes. They also helped Pai Tiatrist carry forward the work began by Lucasinho. Nothing is known about Policarpo Mendonsa, N M Fernandes and Anton Abranv. What is interesting to note, however, is that Lucasinhothe same person who laid the foundation for the tiatrwas now just an actor in Pai Tiatrist’s group. Such was the level of unity and cooperation among tiatrists then.
The fifth member of Pai Tiatrist’s troupe was his wife, Regina Fernandes, who became the first woman to ever act on the tiatr stage. It is said that before Regina appeared in tiatrs, none of the other drama forms of Goa’s neighbouring states had a female actor. She made her debut in her husband’s tiatr, ‘Bhattkara’, on November 22, 1904 at the Gaiety Theatre in Bombay (now Mumbai). Regina created history that day, when she carried three different roles with panache and won the hearts of the entire audience.
Immediately after, Pai Tiatrist roped in Regina’s sister, Carmelina Fernandes, and another girl, N Gomes, for the next performance of the same tiatr. His move to introduce women onto the stage got him much appreciation.
Unfortunately, Regina suddenly took ill and died soon after, dealing a major blow to Pai Tiatrist’s valiant attempt of promoting women actors in tiatrs. Sometime later, he married again and got his second wife, Maria Luiza Colaco, and both his daughters, Rosy and Thereza, to act in his productions. He also introduced another girl, Anne Fernandes, in his tiatr, ‘Albert Gonsalves vou Drunkard’, which was released on October 8, 1925, at Gaiety Theatre.
Although the veteran tiatrist strongly believed that women had a rightful place in tiatrs and that it was not right for males to continue enacting female roles, parents of Goan girls were still not forthcoming to send their daughters to act in tiatrs. This posed several hurdles to Pai Tiatrist.
Taking up his cause was the occasional tiatr script writer, ‘Jack Malal’, who launched ‘Miss Ida’ in his tiatr, ‘Paichem Ghor Bhorlam Guirestkaien’, released on June 16, 1932.
This was followed by the foray of three Goan girlsErmelinda, Adelia Mendonca and Artimista Almeidain a tiatr titled, ‘Alma Vetat Sorgar’, which was presented by the Lusitania Dramatic Company on October 17, 1932.
Efforts to introduce more women to the tiatr stage never ceased thereafter. Affoncekaan upcomng playwrightroped in Etelvina Menezes, Carlota D’Souza and Herieta Cardozo for his tiatr ‘Angelin Bomboinchi Puzardkarn’ that was released on May 20, 1934. Saib Rocha brought in Georgina and Ermelinda. Dioginho D’Melloa popular singer and an occasional playwrightbrought in his own sister, Ismania.
It was, however, still a beginning of sorts for these women, none of who continued in the field for too long. Efforts persisted, nonetheless, till around 1945 when Shalini and Mohana became regular members of C Alvares’s troupe and continued as professional tiatrists for a long time.
The writer is a senior tiatr artiste and the author of the book ‘100 Years of Konkani Tiatro’