A concert pianist is returning “home” to tell the tale of her Jewish mother who came to live in a children’s hostel in Willesden Green after reaching the country on Kindertransport.
Mona Golabek, who is currently starring as her 14-year-old mother Lisa Jura in a one-woman show The Pianist of Willesden Lane, will be at Willesden Library on Sunday.
Ms Jura was a talented musician from Vienna who was forced to flee her country and family during the Nazi invasion of World War II. Ms Golabek said: “I feel so moved to come back ‘home’. It’s so difficult to put into words, an amazing feeling to return to where my mother’s story took place, the story she told me when teaching me the piano and putting me to bed.”
The play, The Pianist of Willesden Lane, is a moving adaption of her book, a tale of survival, hope and the redemptive power of music.
Ms Golabek, who takes on several roles in the play and performs piano pieces from her mother’s repertoire, will take excerpts from the story for the event.
Residents who may remember Lisa, and whose relatives lived in the hostel with her are welcome to attend this free event, organised by the Willesden Town Team in partnership with Brent libraries.
January 31 3pm - 4pm, The Library at Willesden Green, 95 High Road,
The Pianist of Willesden Lane is at St James Theatre, Victoria until February 27
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