First lady of the tiatr stage

Whether in our country or abroad, women joined the dramaticstage much later due to social restrictions. A woman acting on a stage waslooked down upon and was considered of a low character. It took hundreds ofyears, even in developed countries, for women to act on stage. The first womanartiste to embrace the Konkani Tiatr stage was Regina Fernandes in 1904.

Regina Fernandes was born on November 16, 1880 in thevillage of Raia. She was married to Joao Agostinho Fernandes who was called thefather of tiatr. Regina ventured on the tiatr stage at the tender age of 23 andacted the lead female role in the tiatr ‘Bhatkara’ in 1904. At that time, eventhe Marathi stage did not have a female actress on it. Her superb performancein that tiatr caught the eyes of the audience. It was a unique experience thatthe audience had experienced for the first time since the birth of Konkanitiatr in 1892. Regina’s presence on the stage brought reality in acting andadded glamour to the stage. Regina Fernandes goes down in the history of tiatras the first lady on tiatr stage who set an example for others to follow.Regina could act on the stage only because she was the wife of Joao AgostinhoFernandes who wrote and directed the tiatr ‘Bhattkara’.

Unfortunately the first lady of tiatr stage did not livelong and her exemplary efforts. The promising star of Konkani stage expired onDecember 20, 1908 at the age of 28.

Although Regina Fernandes had a very short stint on thetiatr stage (just four years) she created an interest in acting in many younggirls of the time. This was evident from the fact that many women artistesjoined the tiatr stage in spite of the fear of being socially ostracised. Someof the examples of women artistes who adorned the Konkani stage after Regina Fernandeswere Ermelinda, Carlota, Mohana, Cecilia, amongst others. Presently we have anumber of talented female artistes who are doing yeoman service to the cause oftiatr.

Joao Agostinho Fernandes, who wanted to give tiatr a modernlook, also introduced Carmelina Fernandes (Regina’s sister) to the ‘tiatr’stage. Carmelina with her sister, Regina performed very well giving the tiatrstage a boost in comparison, with other stages of that time. Joao Agostinho’slove for tiatr encouraged Luiza Maria Colaco to enter the tiatr stage.Incidentally, Luiza was Fernandes’ second wife. He also motivated his daughtersto act on the tiatr stage. Their presence added much glamour to the tiatrstage.

Saib Rocha, another pillar of tiatr stage, introducedGeorgina Fernandes and later inspired his wife Ermelina to follow in hisfootsteps. Dioguinho D’Mello, a prominent singer of yesteryears, brought hissister, Ismenia Fernandes on the stage. Other girls who ventured to step on thestage in the 1920s and 1930s were Ida, Adelia Mendonca, Artimista Almeida,Etelvina Menezes, to name a few.

Since the inception of Tiatr Academy of Goa in 2009, thetiatr fraternity in Goa celebrates the birth anniversary of Regina Fernandesevery year on November 16. A special programme, exclusively performed by womenartistes of the tiatr stage is presented. Participating in this celebration inlarge numbers definitely amounts to paying sincere tribute to Regina Fernandes– the first lady of Konkani tiatr.