PIANO is a Hindustani tragi-comedy designed, adapted, directed, and performed by Raghubir Yadav, alongside Roshini Achreja, presented by Ryra Art. The play is loosely based on Ferenc Karinthy's Steinway Grand and is set in the 1970s, when dial telephones were the primary mode of communication. It follows a lonely man working in a library who returns each day to an empty house. He is deserted by his wife and has no friends.
Raghubir Yadav delivers an effortless performance from the very beginning, opening with a quiet, engaging moment where he crafts a flute on stage by cutting and drilling a pipe, later revealing that it can actually be played. What follows is a stretch of silence that reflects the monotony of his daily life, underlining solitude and routine. As the day progresses, he begins dialling random numbers to pass time. This soon turns into repeated calls to the same woman in different voices, creating multiple characters such as a child, an old woman, and a pompous piano dealer, each bringing a comic layer to the situation. The prank calls gradually take over his idle day.
The setting remains grounded and realistic, shifting between two distinct homes in Bombay and Goa, each defined by its own tone and visual palette. Despite their differences, both spaces reflect a shared theme of loneliness. The lighting stays focused and appropriate to the environment, avoiding unnecessary theatrics and allowing the performances to remain central throughout.
Raghubir Yadav proves his range as he shifts effortlessly between multiple characters through voice modulation, convincingly fooling the woman on the call while keeping the audience engaged. At a certain point, both characters slowly reveal their loneliness, where they realise that music has been filling their void all along, the flute for the man and the piano for the woman. It is interesting to watch what happens before the curtain closes.
As Roshini Achreja says, "Although it is an adaptation, he (Raghubir Yadav) has completely improvised the play for the Hindustani audience. Also, the original is a Hungarian play translated into English, so it might have been lost in translation. This play can be called a complete original designed by him."
A must-watch for a cure to boredom and a reminder on how to cope with loneliness. Purely therapeutic, with a perfect mix of laughter and tears.
Shashank Jadhav is a theatre practitioner, actor, writer, and director. He is the founder of Occipital Productions, under which he develops work across theatre and films.
