'The Children of Willesden Lane' an inspiring story of survival and resilience
Performances to be held April 19 and 20
— Mount Royal University | Posted: April 12, 2023
Mona Golabek’s one-woman show The Children of Willesden Lane tells the true story of her mother’s experiences as a Jewish child during the Second World War.
A Jewish child’s escape from Nazi Germany is the backdrop of an upcoming performance at the Bella Concert Hall, which highlights the themes of survival and resilience embodied by Holocaust survivors.
Performed by Grammy-nominated pianist Mona Golabek, The Children of Willesden Lane is the true account of her mother Lisa Jura’s experience as a Jewish child refugee and musical prodigy who escaped the Nazis on the Kindertransport to the United Kingdom just before the Second World War. The Taylor Centre for the Performing Arts, in partnership with the Calgary Jewish Federation's (CJF) Holocaust and Human Rights: Remembrance and Education department and the KSW Calgary Holocaust Education and Commemoration Fund, will present two performances on April 19 and 20.
The programming is part of Shoah Week, which provides extended opportunities for Albertans to explore themes related to the Holocaust and Yom Hashoah.
"We are honoured to bring Mona to Calgary to share her mother's inspiring true story of hope and survival during World War II," says Dahlia Libin, co-chair of the Holocaust and Human Rights Remembrance and Education department. "In a time when racism and antisemitism are on the rise and with fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors able to share their experiences in person, it is particularly important to bring performances like this one to Calgarians.”
In addition to the two evening performances, more than 1,600 Calgary and area junior and senior high-school students and their teachers will also have the opportunity to see the show and take part in a Q&A with Golabek during two matinée performances. Students will experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for free and five hundred copies of Golabek’s memoir (co-written with Lee Cohen) will later be sent to schools for distribution to students and libraries.
In 1938 Vienna, as Nazi armies advanced, Malka and Abraham Jura were forced to make an impossible decision: choosing which of their three daughters would secure safe passage to London aboard the Kindertransport rescue operation. They chose to send Lisa, who was a 14-year-old piano prodigy. They believed her music would give her strength to face an uncertain future until they could be reunited.
As one of 9,000 to 10,000 children from Nazi Germany and German-occupied territory rescued by the British government, music was a refuge for Lisa, a connection back to the family and life she had left behind in Vienna. Her music remains a bridge between the past and the present.
Paula Lexier is the co-ordinator for this special project through the KSW Calgary Holocaust Education and Commemoration Fund. She says the experience of the performance is powerful and unique.
“Golabek’s weaving of classical piano pieces with her mother’s tragedy and triumph resonates with the audience in a completely different way. That is what makes the experience so unique,” Lexier recently told the Alberta Jewish News. “The fact that the Taylor Centre for Performing Arts is offering this as part of their regular concert season reinforces the quality of the production.”
Combining vivid storytelling and masterful performances of classics by Bach, Beethoven and Rachmaninoff, the acclaimed one-woman show illustrates how music can bring light and hope to even the darkest of times.
“My grandmother told my mother to hold on to her music, that it would be her best friend and that she would be with her every step of the way through her music,” Golabek told the Alberta Jewish News. “Even though the story is set 80 years ago, it has more relevance today than ever before.”
The student performances were made possible through the generous sponsorship of Al Osten and Buddy Victor in partnership with Calgary Jewish Federation's Holocaust and Human Rights: Remembrance and Education department and KSW Calgary’s Holocaust Education and Commemoration Fund.