That’s how the Mustard Seed Art Company came into being. It was not your usual buy-your-ticket-and-enjoy outfit, but was born from the depths of Goa’s emotional incompleteness, its shifting sands of values. The state—so helplessly dependant on the aesthetics of tourism—had finally got its share of serious theatre.
Working on social themes, the group initially staged plays by well-known playwrights. It then started writing its own scripts based on experiential reality, scripts with a social conscience: A Harvest of Gold (on the exploitation of farmers), Who Killed the Ministers? (on corruption in political life), Unmask the Mask (on social responsibility), Little Boxes (on child labour). Their play My Name is Goa— performed entirely in mime—was particularly incisive, dealing with the history and culture of Goa, the oft-quoted Goan crab mentality, and the rampant problem of alcoholism.
Mustard Seed’s latest street play is on war and conflict. Isabel is working on her next script on the rights of prisoners. As a Mustard Seed loyalist says about the group: "They are eternally fighting with the dark ironies of Goan life. Their theatre is a combat with the theatre of the absurd."
Isabel recalls their first foray into the unknown world of theatre: "It wasn’t an original script, but staging our first play with its universal theme of individual and social responsibility was a moment of discovery. We realised that theatre was not just serious art but also a catalytic instrument of change. So much was waiting to happen. So much could be done. We never looked back."
Today, Mustard Seed has grown into a luminescent plant. Its roots weave through local communities and landscapes. It has staged 35 plays, 14 of them original. Isabel, its president, was awarded the prestigious Goa Sudharop Fellowship this year, conferred by a non-profit ngo working for the betterment of Goa. They also got a prize for their play Who Sits Behind My Eyes (inspired by a Tagore poem). Written by Isabel, it revolves around the life of a woman in a fishing village, with the message that the modern generation should not show its back to its own community and traditions.
Isabel is a lecturer in English at the Dhempe College of Arts and Science, Miramar. Mustard Seed performs only during vacations. It does theatre in Goa, Bangalore and Mumbai, giving creative opportunities to hundreds of young people. Apart from theatre, Isabel’s involvement in community work is exemplary. She is a member of the discussion group Open Minds and has organised funds for several causes. She is the founding member of Positive People—the first counselling group in Goa on HIV/AIDS awareness.
Positive People was the dream of late Dominic D’Souza, an aids patient (and a Mustard Seed member). The discrimination Dominic faced because of his disease inspired the group to write its first original play in 1992, A Leaf in the Wind. In a state choc-a-bloc with foreign tourists but oblivious to the consequent threat of AIDS, the play was an eye-opener. Many became aware of the disease for the first time.
Isabel can be contacted at: Citadel Colony, Dona Paula, Goa, 403004. email: isabvas@goatelecom.com.
