War and Pieces

To make the family structure seem even more vulnerable,Lerner sets it in the aftermath of the Yom-Kippur war of 1973 in Israel (A coalition of Arab countries led by Egypt and Syria had launched a surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur,the holiest day of the Jewish calendar). In the play,Joel,an internationally renowned pianist,has been away from Tel Aviv for 18 long years. News of the war reminds him of home and he can no longer stay away. His return is greeted with traditional bonhomie by his brother but the rifts of a dysfunctional family,embittered by the war in which Joel had not suffered alongside them,begin to appear soon.

Joel’s mother refuses to talk to him directly and demands that he ring the doorbell like an outsider when he wanted to enter the house. His son,Izzy,is openly hostile. “I wondered if the Indian audience would like the scene in which Izzy slams the piano lid on his father’s fingers,” says Lerner.

Actor Oroon Das as a bemused and helpless Joel,and S Somasundaram as an absent-minded doctor were perfect foils,keeping the audience rivetted during the slow action in the first half. “This is only the third time this play has been produced,and I am surprised to see the transformation of an Israeli setting into an Indian one,” adds the director.