Driftwood - The Musical - World Premiere

Driftwood - The Musical has its World Premiere season in Melbourne in May 2022.

A theatrical adaptation of Eva de Jong-Duldig's memoir, Driftwood - The Musical tells the story of Austrian/Australian sculptor Karl Duldig and his artist/inventor wife, Slawa Horowitz-Duldig, taking in their romantic and artistic lives in pre-war Vienna and Slawa’s invention of the foldable umbrella. It follows the couple as they rebuild their lives as artists in Melbourne, though tragically almost all their relatives have died in the Holocaust.

Adapted for the stage by playwright Jane Bodie, Driftwood - The Musical features original music and arrangements by Anthony Barnhill with lyrics by Tania de Jong AM and Jane Bodie. It will be directed Wesley Enoch AM and features an all-Jewish cast. Tania de Jong will be playing the role of her grandmother Slawa Duldig, who invented the foldable umbrella! 

A story of art and creativity, survival and perseverance, family and love, Driftwood is about the resilience found through creativity and in the face of adversity; it is a story of survival and the endurance of the human spirit. It is also about displacement and finding solace and strength in family, art and community. While it is the story of the love between Karl and Slawa, two Viennese artists, it is also the story of one woman's ingenuity, invention and adaptability.

Driftwood promises to capture the universal narrative of seeking safety for yourself and your family, the lingering effects of intergenerational trauma and inspiringly shares the contribution one family has made to the nation.

The title reflects the transitory nature of ‘driftwood’, which drifts to a temporary resting place only to be picked up by the next wave and taken on a further unknown journey. This epic story crosses continents and tells a significant story of art and artists through history. Dark and tragic in parts, it is nevertheless embodied with a fierce element of hope, intelligence, tenacity and survival. Driftwood is more than a memoir. It is an inspiration. Eva weaves her remarkable story of escaping the Holocaust and overcoming its ghosts to find the key to freedom.

Image: Slawa, with her sister Rella in Vienna in 1938.

The production will combine original music and songs with classical music, drama, video projection, technology, and innovative set design, to build and connect to the world. The creative team says the production promises to reach diverse audiences on a range of levels, through the power of a deeply moving and compelling human story, together with the power of music and the human voice.

The work features a fluid sense of time, as characters reconstruct past experiences, to make sense of history, moving between the past and present to create an epic piece which ends in Melbourne in the present day.

Driftwood is, we are promised, more than a memoir. It is an inspiration. Eva de Jong-Duldig weaves her remarkable story of escaping the Holocaust and overcoming its ghosts to find the key to freedom.

What are the key themes?

Driftwood – The Musical promises a magical story of art and creativity, survival and perseverance, family, freedom and love. It is also the story of one woman's ingenuity, invention and adaptability.

In a country built on significant waves of migration, of people fleeing economic disadvantage, persecution, war, famine, the effects of climate change and the hope of a better life, it is timely to look at one family’s journey from Europe to Australia. Driftwood captures the universal narrative of seeking safety for yourself and your family, the lingering effects of inter-generational trauma and inspiringly shares the contribution one family has made to the nation.

The family’s rich contribution to artistic life in Australia is set against a uniquely Melbourne and Australian backdrop and explores an emerging Australian identity through the lens of the immigrant experience.

The plight of refugees during wartime and the themes of loss, escape, migration, internment and resettlement, remain relevant in modern Australia. They will be dramatically illustrated through this true story of survival and give this story large appeal. The themes also mirror today’s growing global dislocation, division, uncertainty and isolation, increased surveillance, fear, lockdowns, quarantine and closed borders, and the loss of community and connection which threatens our social fabric and, ultimately, our humanity.

Creative thinking is what we need to help address the most pressing issues facing our society today. Driftwood helps tell the story of artists who through their ingenuity and invention helped shape a better life and through them a more creative country.

Artists shape the world we live in. Women artists create more than their art; many create life and nurture creativity in artists of the future. Driftwood is a multi-generational biography of how stories and creative thinking can save lives and serve up to the world a menu of beauty and love, even when they are given only hate and pain as ingredients.

“Driftwood is a show not of our time but for our time. History has so many lessons to teach us and, as we start to recover from a once-in-a-century pandemic, we are reminded of our resilience and the collective power of the human condition. Through historic narratives we can demonstrate to the future known ways forward, vocabularies of change and the human instinct to tell stories that unite us. Karl and Slawa’s story is a deeply moving and compelling one. With the power of music and the human voice we are very excited to bring this gripping drama to stage,” said Director Wesley Enoch.

Who is in the show?

Karl Duldig and Slawa Horowitz-Duldig’s granddaughter, Soprano Tania de Jong AM performs the lead role of Slawa with an all-Jewish cast.

“The work poignantly explores the loss that families encounter when they are dislocated by war, whilst illuminating an immigrant experience that is uniquely Australian. I am so inspired to be playing the role of my extraordinarily creative grandmother who invented the foldable umbrella,” said de Jong. 

Actor and singer, Anton Berezin who recently performed with Opera Australia in Evita and whose theatre credits include Sweeney Todd, Wicked, The Producers, Side Show Alley, How To Succeed in Business plays the male lead role of Karl.  Playing Slawa’s sister Rella is jazz songstress and musical theatre actor Fem Belling (The Boy From Oz, Hairspray and Fame). 

Sara Reed whose musical theatre credits include Billy Elliot: The Musical, Jane Banks in Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins and Bielke in Fiddler on the Roof opposite Anthony Warlow plays Eva, whilst Troy Sussman (Aladdin, Les Miserables Australian and West End productions) plays multiple roles, rounding out the all-Jewish cast.

The production’s Musical Director and Composer, Anthony Barnhill has conducted performances at opera houses around the world including Berlin State Opera and Sydney Opera House as part of the 2019 international tour of West Side Story (Opera Australia, GWB entertainment, BB group). His other musical theatre credits include Chicago (GFO), Evita (OA) and Oklahoma! (The Production Company).  Anthony has recently been named Music Director for Opera Australia’s Phantom of the Opera 2022 season.

Driftwood is included on the VCE Drama list.

Driftwood

World Premiere

An epic story of love, courage, survival …. and foldable umbrellas

based on Eva de Jong-Duldig’s memoir

Directed by Wesley Enoch AM

Starring Tania de Jong AM, Anton Berezin, Fem Belling, Sara Reed and Troy Sussman

Adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright Jane Bodie

Musical Direction and Composition by Anthony Barnhill

Designed by Charlotte Lane

Executive Producer, Lyrics and Concept -Tania de Jong AM

Producer and General Manager - Neil Gooding