Calcutta Kosher

Recently Grace and Deryck Pereira attended a play entitled “Calcutta Kosher”, and by all accounts they thoroughly enjoyed it. Here is a complete review of the play followed by Grace’s comments and recommendation.

Shelly Silas was born in Calcutta and moved to the UK in 1996. She tells an interesting and funny story about one of the few remaining Indian Jewish families still living in Calcutta.

The mother, Mozelle (Jamila Massey), is on her deathbed and asks her two daughters to come and see her before she dies. They both left Calcutta years ago. Silvie (Shelly King) now lives in L.A. and Esther (Harvey Virdi) in England. On their arrival, they discover they have half sister. There are no longer two, but three! Skeletons leap out of the closet and they are both confronted with their mother's deep and dark secrets.

This play explores some interesting themes about Eastern and Western society, tradition, values, culture, past and present. The daughters can no longer fluently speak their mother tongue and have forgotten how to pray. Ultimately it poses questions such as: is it possible to hold on to your culture and maintain tradition when living in a Western society? What is right and wrong when it comes to matters of the heart?

There were some great performances, especially from Shelly King who played a thoroughly entertaining and witty character and continued to hog the audience the minute she made her grand entrance. Perhaps the American accent added to the comedy, it was clear that she enjoyed playing that part. Silvie is an extrovert, free and enjoys life; Esther is the opposite. She is somewhat envious of her younger sister, because she is extremely unadventurous, reserved, pompous and always plays safe. In one particular scene, Silvie realizes she accidentally smuggled cocaine into a bottle of painkillers, and tempts Esther to try it, it all goes wrong with hilarious consequences.

I wasn't convinced that Seema Borwri who played Maki, (the half sister) was fully in tune with her character. I found her performance was a little bland at times.

Costumes were good, and echoed the individuality of each character. Silvie was glammed up and Esther wore a conservative outfit. Beeps and horns were all used to add to the various sounds of the city, allowing the audience to experience a touch of the hustle & bustle you would expect in Calcutta. Lighting reflected the times of day and set the mood very well.

The overall performances were good, everyone seemed enthralled by the story. The play was full of excellent one-liners, mostly delivered by Mozelle and Silvie. The audience response too was fantastic and I laughed throughout the production. It was an equally entertaining and thought provoking production. A definite must see.

Grace’s Comments

Dereyck and I have just been to see the play “Calcutta Kosher”, written by Shelley Silas. Shelley is cousin to the Mordecai sisters, Etta, Anita and Cheryl. As my friendship with Etta goes back to the Lower Kindergarten in Dow Hill, through to sharing a flat in London before we got married, and rearing our children together, till today, I know nearly all the family, as they do mine.

The play was excellent. Two sisters, one living in England and one in America return to see their mother who still lives in their old home in Calcutta.  Both wish her to live with them. As the leaflet said, “Set in the Indian Jewish community, this funny and moving play explores conflicts between old and new, East and West, tradition and truth.”

We found it very nostalgic, from hearing “Ninnie, Baba, Ninnie” to seeing the set with the furnishings, down to the tableware, with which we were familiar. It certainly showed how clearly we have been influenced by the culture of our adopted countries, yet recalling that of our birth. The theme was a serious one, but the dialogue and interplay between the characters made it very often most amusing.

We saw Shelley, and congratulated her on the play. The theatre was full, with many from India but also a good proportion from England. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has the chance to see it.

GRACE PEREIRA