Calcutta Kosher

Esther, a safe and sensible mother living in London, and her sister Silvie, an abrasive, cocaine-snorting Los Angelan, return to their home in Calcutta to visit their dying mother.
Each intends to take her back with them, believing that they would be rescuing her from India. On arrival, they are shocked to find that Maki, a young woman caring for their mother whom they had always treated as a servant, is actually their half-sister.

The family are Indian Jews, a tiny minority under threat of extinction as its members inter-marry, emigrate to the West or give up on their traditions. Mozelle, the mother, refuses to leave Calcutta as she wishes to be with Maki and near the synagogues that are falling into disuse.

Although she was keen to see her daughters educated in the West to give them the best opportunities, she is disappointed that they have abandoned their culture's language and practices. They, on the other hand, cannot understand why she would prefer to stay in dusty, insect-riddled India when she could live in the West.

Rivalry between all three sisters reaches boiling point as it becomes apparent that the new-found sister Maki is the closest to their mother and the one in whom she invests her hopes of continuing the family traditions.The themes and attitudes portrayed are easily recognisable to someone with an Asian background, especially, for me, the over-critical attitude of first generation Indian immigrants to their home country.

Although there seemed to be some uncertainty about lines, all of the acting was superb, especially the body language and voices of the two sisters. The actors are well cast in their roles, most notably Seema Bowri as Maki and Richard Santhiri portrayed the quiet dignity of the servant Siddique particularly well.

The Kali Theatre Company specialise in producing work from Asian women writers and have created a hit with this fascinating, cliché-dodging exploration of a clash of cultures.