Living in Israel means living in an entire country affected by the trauma of the Holocaust, something Keshet Kesh knows only too well being a direct descendant of European Jews.
“There’s a very weird and surreal reality there where every time you meet someone new, especially if it’s a romantic relationship, you hear their family’s Holocaust stories,” Kash says.
“They just feel the urgency of keeping those stories alive.”
It was a shocking revelation for Kesh to meet his first Holocaust denier after moving to Australia in 2011.
“Growing up in Israel was a bit of a sheltered bubble in the sense that everyone just knew what happened,” he says.
“I don’t feel like it’s necessarily anti-Semitism when they deny it, I feel like it’s just a lack of education and understanding.”
Starting his career in Israel as a guitarist in band Heavenbound, Kesh’s artistic talent has since expanded to composer, sound engineer and animator, where creating his first rock opera in 2017, The Diments, saw a pivot to musical theatre, serving as a guitarist and videographer on Jesus Christ Superstar, Pirates of Penzance, We Will Rock You, Cats, The Boy From Oz and Priscilla Queen Of The Desert.
Kesh has now created, produced and directed his next show, The Hollow Cause, which is an immersive, theatrical music event at The Naval Store, Fremantle from March 7 to 10, set in Poland during the last year of World War II that follows the story of four Jewish freedom fighters.
“I think cracking the code when creating this was understanding that I didn’t actually want to tell a Jewish story,” the 39-year-old Balga resident says.
“I mean, this story happens to be about Jews, but the important thing here to take from this, is that horrible stuff can happen to anyone, and triumph of the human spirit is something universal.
“I don’t think of it as a show about the Holocaust, I think of it as a show that is set in the Holocaust and is just an amazing journey of survival.
“I don’t want to get too political because the show doesn’t deal with anything that’s happening currently. But I feel like, obviously what we’re seeing right now with the Israel-Hamas conflict, it’s important to keep talking about events like that. There’s this need to understand the past, so we don’t repeat it, so we can recognise red flags.”
The fully orchestrated production, conducted by Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts graduate Akari Komoto, features 22 musicians including Perth Symphony Orchestra founder Bourby Webster who returns to the stage from performance retirement to play viola.
It mixes multiple musical genres from jazz, gospel, Latin and contemporary to Mizrahi, Klezmer and folk, with the cast of 12 singers featuring heavy metal turned opera/musical theatre tenor Vin Trikeriotis playing freedom fighter Marduk.
Despite the talent on offer, the main drawcard for Kesh is the immersive experience of turning The Naval Store into a partisan camp where the audience will be initiated into the resistance, taking an active step in combating ignorance and fighting racism.
“There’s a whole pre-show one hour before the show starts, where you can engage in all sorts of covert missions and information,” he says.
“The ushers are actors in costume. This is why we went for The Naval Store because it’s an empty warehouse and a perfect venue to make everything from scratch. From the chair to the exit sign, everything is customised, so you’ll really feel like you’re back in the 1940s when we’re done with the design.
“It will be such a powerful experience and then you have the music which is just gonna blow your mind.”