The Ghetto Cabaret

Last Sunday we visited Kadimah - Jewish Cultural Centre in Melbourne - CLICK.

The reason is shown on a poster above. It was also some extension of emotions experienced at the movie The Zookeeper's Wife - see the previous entry. To see this world from the other side.

First impression confirmed out expectations.

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Yellow Stars of David, general commotion, expressive mimic and gesticulation.

The performance hasn't started yet, but the climate around the stage was an integral part of it. Stage manager was full of worries:
- Bronia did not come yet.What happened to her? - she looks helplessly at the actors and we realize, that terrible thing could happen to people in this place, at this time.
- The show must go on! - nobody has doubts about it.
Yankele, a clown - character based on Yankele Hershkowitz from Łódź Ghetto - is cruising between rows of chairs
- Give me ein Grosch, I will tell you a secret.
Not everyone knows what ein Grosch means.

Finally the show starts. It surprised me. I expected to hear some songs from suburban Warsaw, from Eastern parts of pre-war Poland. Like Małe miasteczko Bełz (Majn sztetele Bełz) - CLICK. But no, the show was based on tradition of Jewish cabarets in Berlin and Amsterdam.
MC of the show played a bit in the style of unforgettable Lisa Minelli (movie Cabaret).
All songs were sang in Yiddish which reminded me a book by Isaac Bashevis Singer - Love and Exile - memories from writer's life in Warsaw. Only then I realized, that Jewish diaspora in pre-war Poland led completely self sufficient life, without any need for contact with social and cultural life of Poles.

The show ended, actors mixed with the crowd and I felt a bit like in Warsaw, and in Melbourne.

I asked musicians and somebody from the crowd if they know Yiddish - only few words - was the answer. Same as me.

Webpage of the show HERE.

Polish version HERE.