BUDDING ARTISTS
Being Heard Reflections from an evening of politically charged, socially sensitive, poetic theatre
We often wonder where the world is headed. You read about yet another act of violence or a horrific sexual assault. Good old Justice often does not play his dutiful role. The blaring headlines ironically mute the voices of victims and the oppressed. Voices are strangled by the tangle of words on the front page, unable to touch and reach the masses, as one gets immune to the recurrence of tragic events. Space Theatre Ensemble has liberated these voices in their captivating performance “Voices from the Belly”. These voices can be heard - loud and clear, as they arise from the belly with full force, jolting one and all from complacency. Space Theatre Ensemble is a part of SPACE Goa, an initiative to spread the arts to young people. This ensemble strives to train and mentor youngsters in a manner that gives them the freedom to develop their own artistic voices, but also sensitises them to various social issues through the medium of the arts. The ensemble had started in order to spread awareness about the illegal mining in Goa and the destruction of the Western Ghats. Hartman de Souza, an actor, writer and director of SPACE Goa, shared
A scene from ‘Voices from the Belly’
with the audience that the Goans were not even aware of the mining that was taking place a mere 60km from where they were living. In an interview with NDTV, he further stated that we now live in an age where we constantly indulge ourselves with entertainment, living a life perpetually in front of a screen. This results in a lack of thought. He suggests that thoughtfulness and awareness can be achieved through art and the immediacy of theatre. This aim has been embodied clearly in their performance,