THE FATHERING

by Jussi Wahlgren Copyright 1997
Kukkaniityntie 17, 00900 Helsinki, Finland
tel. +358-9-326981, Fax. +358-9-321697

 The play starts in present day Germany. THOMAS CROSSING is a 
brilliant young concert pianist. He has been driven on by his mother 
ANITA, who wants nothing else than to raise a genius. THOMAS is growing 
bored of the pieno, and wants to live his own life. And he wants to know 
who his father really is - or was. He starts writing plays without his 
mother knowing. ANITA even hires a prostitute called KATARINA, so that 
THOMAS may not be distracted from his career by the need for women. MAX 
is a former concert pianist whose hands were crippled after being frozen 
during imprisonment in Prague in 1968 (after the Soviet tanks invaded the 
country) MAX is now drunkard and a shabby piano tuner. He too happens to 
use the services of KATARINA in his erotic longing of lost love in Prague 
twenty years back. THOMAS calls MAX (not knowing that he is his father) 
to his flat to fix the piano he is using to rehearse for his "Big Break" 
concert later that year in the Albert Hall, London. The two men drink and 
MAX reveals that he possibly knew ANITA before she fled Prague years ago. 
MAX feels very much betrayed by lovely ANITA and blames in his mind her 
for escaping with another man, ZACK, a mediocre sellist and aristocrate, 
and keeping his own son, THOMAS, from him. He vows to gain his 
revenge by 
bringing THOMAS down. THOMAS shows (Not being aware of anything) MAX his 
secret play and MAX tells him that it is good (which is a lie) and that 
he will ask his friends (which he doesn't have) in London to produce it. 
Thus the action moves to London.
THOMAS is encouraged by MAX to pursue the writing. THOMAS sees his 
chance to escape his mother's control and plots not to give the "BIG 
BREAK" concert, but a theatre premiere of his own instead! In the 
'climax' scene MAX and ANITA confront each other, in front of THOMAS. It 
is revealed that MAX is THOIMAS's father (ie. revealed to THOMAS. We 
have already known that) MAX is suddenly full of remorse and admits 
that the play is rubbish and there is no producers or 'angels' working to 
put it up. THOMAS, not yet realizing the facts, decides to be free from 
piano playing for good and to this end, he breaks his hand by slamming 
the piano lid down on it. Then KATARINA arrives. After being denied acces 
to the flat by MAX she climbs through the window. She declares that she 
is pregnant by THOMAS and demands to be provided for. ANITA thinks 
furiously for a moment and then calmly says that the Albert Hall concert 
is postponed twenty years. She will provide for KATARINA and look after 
the child, on the condition that she may raise her/him as yet another 
pieno genius, in THOMAS's place. Now THOMAS disagrees strongly, for the 
first time in his life, and decides to marry KATARINA and raise a family 
and work his way through life. The new couple leaves, determined. ANITA
and MAX settle their differences and ANITA decides to attach himself to 
her long lost lover. They agree to go into business jointly, as ANITA 
had ironically expressed, by setting up "The Maxian Piano Tuners".
Max plays the final of Chopin's F-major Polonese and dies in ANITA's arms...


 Several sets. Classic piano music. 2 female and two male roles.