Theatre Review: Loretta

Director: Sunil Shanbag
Cast: Danish Hussain, Rozzlin, Sattvic, Abhijit Bhor
Rating: ****

Time to ask, whose land is it anyway?

In a composite society like ours ‘otherness’ has always been an issue. Sunil Shanbag, in his play Loretta, explores the cross-cultural interactions that follow when young Anglo-Indian woman Loretta (Rozzlin Pereira) comes to Bartolomeu — a Konkani coastal island in Goa — with her boyfriend Rafael aka Rafi (Saattvic). Loretta, who is in search of her roots, immediately falls in love with the island. But will the island welcome her?
The story is not elaborate. Set in the 70s, Rafi’s father Antony (Abhijit Bhor) — an archaic and xenophobic landlord of the island — is an advocate of the purity of Konkani language and culture. In fact, he doesn’t want to build a bridge that might help the island connect to the rest of the world. He is also not prepared to let Loretta permanently stay on the island since she does not belong there. The story, evidently, is about Antony’s transformation from a parochial father to a better human being, who, with help of his man Friday Caitu (Danish Husain), at last accepts the ‘other’ with open arms.
But it is not the story (written by Pundalik Naik — an eminent Konkani playwright) that amused the packed audience who paid a visit to the AADYAM and Sangit Kala Mandir’s initiative at Kala Mandir on August 26. What engaged the spectators instantly was the overall high-on-energy performance. With songs, dance, comedy and sideshows, director Shanbag has presented an exuberant musical in the form of tiatr — a Goan

theatre

form that involves live music and side shows.
Performances are the backbone of the play. Danish Hussain as Caitu delivers with excellent flair. His comedy is spot on. Hussain — a veteran stage actor — extracts the politics of the margins with ease.
“Time is like fashion. If you don’t change, you become naked,” Caitu says at one point to his master, and the hall roars in laughter. One of the major themes of the play is the ownership of the language — whether it will be contained within academics and obscure grammar books or whether it will unravel itself with true marvel through the voice of folklore, legends, local songs and day-to-day activities. Caitu brings out this subtle yet strong politics in his own words, “My language is not in the books. It is in the fishmarket, it is in my kitchen, it is everywhere”.
His affection for Loretta, his comically cunningness in helping her pass the language test and his bristling enthusiasm are mesmerizing. Another set of showstoppers of the play was the gang of Pedro, the baker (Shailesh Hejmadi), Miguel the toddy tapper (Kailash Waghmare) and Audu, the fishmonger (Shilpa Sane). The synchronisation and camaraderie of this trio leave the audience in split.
However, the play has its flaws. The main weakness is the plot. The reason behind Antony’s change of heart and warmly welcoming Loretta to his land is flimsy. It all happens hastily, and hence lacks credibility. In fact, the storyline has to be strongly supported by the songs, festivity and the comic relief in between, without which the play becomes mediocre drama.
But one must watch the play. From beautiful performances to live music to eye-catching production — Loretta deserves applause. One of the most important aspects of the play is the skits, served as sideshows — a typical of tiatr. The actors brilliantly mock the present Indian political issues including the censor board or intolerance. Shanbag, Hussain
and Baig deliver these skits with flawless beauty.