Theatre Flamingo’s ‘Offside’ uses football as a metaphor to explore labour, aspiration, family, and dignity in contemporary Goa
VINIKA VISWAMBHARAN
NT BUZZ
What happens when dreams meet the realities of survival? That is the question at the heart of ‘Offside’, a new bilingual theatre production by Theatre Flamingo, directed by Keatan Jadhav.
“After directing and adapting Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ into Konkani with the Theatre Flamingo’s senior repertoire, I wanted to create a new production rooted in our own social realities,” he says. “Around that time, I encountered August Wilson’s ‘Fences’. The emotional and structural conflicts in the play resonated deeply with what I was observing in Goa.”
The play follows the life of Dummingo (played by Dr. Kunal Borker), a Catholic community wireman whose youthful passion for football slowly gives way to the demands of everyday life. As he grapples with work, family responsibilities and unfulfilled aspirations, the play explores the invisible forces that shape ordinary lives.
The production was developed over several months through Theatre Flamingo’s devising process at the TF Actors Lab in Canacona. Instead of beginning with a completed script, actors worked through improvisations, character studies, observations, and movement exercises before the final script gradually emerged.
Having grown up in Canacona, where football is woven into everyday life, Jadhav found the sport to be a natural starting point for the story, where the sport is as much a part of village life as it is of the state’s cultural identity. “I have seen extraordinary passion, talent and discipline in local players. Yet the question stayed with me. If football is so deeply rooted in Goan culture, why do so few players reach the
highest levels?”
Alongside this, he kept noticing another pattern. Many talented young people eventually leave their dreams behind and take up jobs as police personnel, forest guards, wiremen or other public service roles because they offer stability and survival. ‘Offside’ grew out of this curiosity. “The play is inspired by many conversations and experiences, but it is not based on one individual.”
The title itself carries a layered meaning. “In football, being offside often means arriving at the right place at the wrong time,” explains Jadhav. “For me, it became a metaphor for people whose talent, effort, and dreams constantly collide with larger systems. Dummingo is always trying to move forward, yet something beyond his control keeps pulling him back.”
Beyond football, ‘Offside’ explores much broader themes including labour, aspiration, power, corruption and economic insecurity. It also shines a light on women’s invisible labour through the character of Rose. “Rather than offering answers, I hope ‘Offside’ leaves audiences with questions,” says Jadhav. “While men often speak about the burdens they carry outside the home, who listens to the invisible labour, desires and sacrifices of the women who hold that
home together?”
The play is performed in both Konkani and English, reflecting the rhythms of everyday speech in Goan Catholic households. “It wasn’t a conscious decision,” he says. “When a Goan Catholic speaks in everyday life, English naturally finds its way into the conversation. We simply remained truthful to that rhythm of speech.” He believes the story reflects challenges familiar to many Goans today – temporary employment, unemployment, migration, sporting aspirations, economic insecurity and the search
for dignity.
The production also reflects Theatre Flamingo’s wider philosophy. Founded by Jadhav in 2017 after returning to Goa following his theatre education and work across the country, the collective has evolved from a travelling theatre group into a space dedicated to actor training, research, and original productions rooted in Goan realities.
“We don’t begin with the intention of delivering a message,” he says. “We begin by observing people, places and everyday life. We are interested in stories that are local in their setting but universal in their emotions.”
Jadhav describes his directing style as one that favours simplicity over spectacle as he believes theatre becomes powerful when the audience forgets they are watching actors.
“As a director, I create conditions where the ensemble can investigate, question and discover together,” he says. That being said, in an increasingly fast-paced and digitally connected world, he believes theatre offers something increasingly rare. “Today we are connected to hundreds of people online, yet sometimes find it difficult to have an honest conversation with our own family. Theatre asks you to slow down. It asks you to sit with people, argue, fail, laugh, rehearse and return again the next day. Slowly, you stop seeing actors and start meeting
human beings.”
Following its successful premiere at ‘Prayog Sanj’, a monthly experimental theatre event held in Panaji, where it played to a full house, Theatre Flamingo hopes to take ‘Offside’ to festivals across the country while continuing its work through TF Actors Lab and the newly developing TF Studios.
(‘Offside’ will be staged on July 18, 7 p.m. at the Museum of Goa, Pilerne. Tickets are available through District by Zomato.)
