Thirty five years and seventy plays, is quite something to boast about, as the Mustard Seed Art Company (an amateur theatre group from Goa) presents an entertaining evening with their play titled, It’s a Bebinca, Stupid!
Prof Isabel Vas, incepted the Mustard Seed, as an amateur theatre group, initially doing plays by famous Western and Indian playwrights, and soon began scripting her own plays. The plays were mostly Goa-centric, and spoke about various happenings in society, occupation of the people, social attitudes, etc.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the group had an online play last year, and are glad to be back on stage this year.
BEHIND THE PLAY
It’s a Bebinca, Stupid! has been directed by Isabel de Santa Rita Vas and Kiran Bhandari.
“Our play is about the choices people made after the pandemic, and revolves around some of the interesting choices made by different people as the Covid pandemic subsided after great tumult. It’s based on what really held meaning for them. It is not a grand show; it is in the genre of intimate theatre," says Isabel.
"An original script and an original song sung to original music, we rehearsed for 2 months, before this 1 hour 1 minute performance. The play is based in Goa, and bebinca is a cherished Goan sweet. It takes many hours of work to prepare it, and its many layers give it a unique taste. It seems like a good motif for what our play dramatizes – complex choices in life,” opines Isabel, who also wrote the script.
The music for the theme song has been composed by Dr Rui Lobo and Maria Jose Bindiya and Dr Teles. Accompaniment track is by Rui Lobo. Vocals – It’s a Bebinca, Stupid! is by Dynisia Juliao, while We’ve Got It Beat! is by Naveenkumar Manturagimath and Samantha Viana. It’s choreographed by Celsa Furtado Fernandes, Marisse Bhobe, Kiran Bhandari.
The cast includes Samantha Viana, Naveenkumar Manturagimath, Sanket Chauthe, Sakshi Lawande, Kiran Bhandari, Priyanka S Pandit, Saiee Dargalkar, Nellie Velho Pereira, Stuti Gaitonde, Sieno Gomes, Daphne Pearl De Souza, Virginia de Melo. All of them come together seamlessly to present an easy-viewing, entertaining performance.
THE CAST: Samantha Viana, Naveenkumar Manturagimath, Sanket Chauthe, Sakshi Lawande, Kiran Bhandari, Priyanka S Pandit, Saiee Dargalkar, Nellie Velho Pereira, Stuti Gaitonde, Sieno Gomes
PRODUCTION TEAM: Daphne Pearl De Souza, Virginia de Melo, Samantha Viana
DIRECTION: Isabel SR Vas, Kiran Bhandari
SCRIPT: Isabel SR Vas
MUSIC FOR THE THEME SONG:
Composition: Rui Lobo & Maria Jose Binidya Teles
Accompaniment track: Rui Lobo
VOCALS:
It’s a Bebinca, Stupid!: Dynisia Juliao
We’ve Got It Beat!: Naveenkumar Manturagimath & Samantha Viana
CHOREOGRAPHY: Celsa Furtado Fernandes, Marisse Bhobe, Kiran Bhandari
It’s a Bebinca, Stupid! will be staged on:
November 18, 2022 @ 5 pm: Goa Heritage Festival (Surya Kiran Restaurant, Campal)
November 20, 2022 @ 5 pm: Carpe Diem Art Gallery, Majorda, South Goa
There is no entry fee and the event is open to all.
