There’s something strangely comforting and yet oddly disturbing about watching Barbara Rappaport chop an onion.

There’s a ritualistic way that the old woman prepares her dinner, humming about the apartment, rustling about her pots and pans. You’d almost think it was a typical day in the life of an ordinary woman. Until you notice how she avoids the window.

Actually, by the time this scene takes place, we’re already in somewhat of a sinister mindset. It’s the opening of Act Two of Honey Brown Eyes, a powerful world premiere at Theater J exploring the impact of the Bosnian conflict on everyday citizens. Honey Brown Eyes takes war and makes it personal, forcing the audience not to deal with war in abstractions, or measured in body counts, but by seeing true disruption of innocent lives that should be separated from the devastating acts.