Israeli-born singer-songwriter Lior Attar has embarked on a career in musical theatre. The artist usually known as Lior is about to take the Sydney stage to play Motel in what might be the world’s best-loved musical,Fiddler On The Roof.

As it happens, he was headhunted for the role.

“The invitation came out of nowhere,” he says. “I hadn’t grown up in music theatre. But Fiddler On The Roof is the one musical I knew well – it’s timeless and universal and it’s a real theatre piece. I’ve seen the movie, seen several live productions. I have a cultural link to the story – my mum’s side of the family came from the shtetls [small Jewish villages in eastern Europe]. They were like these people. So in a way, it’s very familiar.”

Being asked to play Motel came at a good time for Lior, arriving at the end of a decade-long professional cycle. “I’ve released five albums,” he says. “And so I decided to challenge myself with a different art form, and see how I go.”

Lior appears in the production alongside Anthony Warlow, Sigrid Thornton and Mark Mitchell – impressive company for someone who isn’t a trained actor. However, singing someone else’s songs and taking direction isn’t too difficult, Lior reckons; there’s been plenty of room for him to find his character.

“Roger Hodgman is a brilliant director. He lets you find your way. He’s not didactic. It’s challenging; I’m exploring new processes. Roger had faith in my potential. He could see the direction I needed to go in and let me discover and learn a lot, not deliver by rote. With my character he said, ‘Bring the Yiddish inflections into it. Do all the Jewish trills; decorate it in a way that you see fit.’ I much prefer to find my own way. This is an actor-driven show, which is a big part of the reason I wanted to do it. There’s an authenticity in the actual play. It’s more than just musical theatre. The songs in Fiddler lead from the dialogue into other songs, they’re not just reiterating what’s been said.”

Lior offers a few observations about Motel in particular. “He goes on a real journey. He’s a gentle, subservient character to begin with and he becomes strong and centred. He’s torn between respect for tradition but he opens the gates to bigger increments of change.

“I’ve learnt I can be less inhibited and a bit braver than I would have given myself credit for before,” he continues. “I’ve been stepping outside my comfort zone, far from my own comfortable life as a singer-songwriter. You’re stepping into another art form, where you’re not the man, not leading or directing. You have to become vulnerable and a little bit brave as well. It’s a great learning curve. You can’t do that without the risk of failure. Although it’s not a dance-heavy piece, I did have one moment where I thought to myself, ‘What are you doing?’ I am so full of admiration for people who have to sing and dance at the same time and who do it well.”

The musical also calls for Lior to sing one piece solo: ‘Miracles Of Miracles’. The songs from Fiddler On The Roof are possibly the most famous show tunes ever – it’s hard to imagine that anyone anywhere might not have heard ‘If I Were A Rich Man’ – and Lior talks about them being “stand-alone” compositions. Their simplicity matches that of his own music, and Lior reveals that he would definitely take up the opportunity to be a lyricist if the right musical presented itself.

“I never thought about writing musicals, but now I could become a lyricist if I had the opportunity to write songs for a story as beautifully told as this one is,” he says. “They are really beautiful songs. The simplicity and beauty of them is so powerful – they’re inspiring. My lyric writing has a similar simplicity. I can see myself writing lyrics like that. These songs contain the real power of simple lyrics; they have a universal, simple lyrical power.”

Indeed, this production of Fiddler On The Roof focuses on being low-key, rather than attempting the big Broadway-style extravaganza. For a start, the music is performed by a klezmer ensemble instead of an orchestra. “They are more contemporary arrangements,” Lior explains. “It’s really beautiful, that bittersweetness of klezmer.”

While audiences in Melbourne have already responded well to Fiddler On The Roof, it is in Japan where it holds the honour of being the country’s most popular Western musical – something that might be hard to believe at first, given the story is so specifically Jewish.

“It shows how universal it is,” says Lior. “It’s one of the most popular musicals ever. This story exists in so many cultures, amongst so many different nationalities – it connects with other cultures. People in Japan have said, ‘It’s written about us.’ They totally relate to this story. It speaks to Japan’s own history of change versus tradition and progress. It’s popular in Korea too. It’s popular far and wide; it has universal appeal.”

[Fiddler On The Roof photo by Jeff Busby]

Fiddler On The Roofruns from Thursday March 24 at Capitol Theatre.

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