Cirrus@Austlit

'Driftwood The Musical is a theatrical adaptation of Eva de Jong-Duldig’s critically acclaimed memoir ‘Driftwood – escape and survival through art’, which tells the inspirational story of the renowned Austrian/Australian sculptor Karl Duldig and his artist/inventor wife, Slawa Horowitz-Duldig. The story takes in their romantic and artistic lives in pre-war Vienna and Slawa’s ingenious invention of the foldable umbrella. We follow the family’s narrow escape from Nazi Austria, as well as the recovery of all their Viennese art and other possessions after the war.

'Karl said, ‘A game of tennis saved my life’. They found a brief refuge in Singapore before arriving in Australia on 25 September 1940. Australia was at war: they were classified as enemy aliens and interned in an isolated camp in northern Victoria. They rebuilt their lives as artists in Melbourne, but tragically almost all their relatives died in the Holocaust.

'Spanning three continents and three generations, Driftwood is an epic story affirming the power of human creativity and familial bonds.'

Source: Production blurb.

'Water follows the journey of families born at different times in Australia’s history, who are united in their determination to create safe passage for their loved ones.

'It begins in Western Australia in the not-too-distant future, where we meet with a once powerful politician about to celebrate his birthday at the family’s island home – a retreat from the world that has clearly seen better days. There’s no water in the taps, there are no birds in the sky and to top it off, an unexpected guest arrives for dinner. With party politics high on the agenda and questions about who is to blame for crimes against humanity, celebrations are derailed and tensions run high.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'From multi-award-winning playwright Jane Bodie, and featuring original songs by Mark Seymour (Mark Seymour and the Undertow, Hunters and Collectors), Lamb is the story of one family on an Australian sheep farm, over generations – the guilt of those who left; the lost desires of those who stayed behind.

“You left a trail of broken bread
Across the old battle ground
Behind the veil of the living and the dead
You wrote your secrets down.”

'Developed through Red Stitch’s INK program, Lamb is a new Australian play full of lyrical longing and humour. It is a story of the land, and of lies told and secrets kept to protect those we love – and to stop them from leaving us.'

Source: Red Stitch 2018 season.

'Fourplay is a serendipitous love story about four city dwellers finding intimacy, friendship and love in unlikely places.'

Source: Darlinghurst Theatre Company.

'Two actors researching a theatre project befriend a seemingly quiet and ordinary man named Adam. In reality, Adam’s unexceptional existence is carefully calibrated – a precarious sideways tightrope-walk over his mental illness. Now, Adam’s new friends are at risk of throwing his life dangerously off balance. And there’s every chance they’ll go down with him.

'Music offers a sharp critique of the way mental illness is perceived today and examines the dangerous consequences of raiding people’s personal lives in the name of art. A surprising and surprisingly funny story of people connecting and colliding, as two actors blunder their way into Adam’s life, causing untold damage to him as a result.

'Having delighted Griffin audiences with This Year’s Ashes in 2011, the world premiere of Music marks the return to Griffin of playwright Jane Bodie. Winner of the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award (2006) for A Single Act, Jane’s plays have been produced both nationally and internationally, including in London, New York and Brazil.' (Source Griffin Theatre Company website)

'When young Jack is bundled off and sent to stay with distant relatives in a far off land, he has no idea quite how much his life is about to change.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 14/1/2014)

For a (currently incomplete) list of episodes, authors, and airdates, see Film Details.

“You’d rather they hadn’t been here, when we arrived. You’d rather they’d perished, leaving you in peace, picking through their remains. So you could have made up your own story about who they were, how they lived."

'An ancient civilization is discovered in a forest. But why are there only four of them? And what can they teach us about how to live in a dying world, before they go? Hinterland is a breathtaking new play about humanity, language and the cost of intervention by Jane Bodie, former Head of Playwriting at NIDA and current Griffin Theatre Company Associate Artist. (Source: http://www.nida.edu.au/Hinterland/default.aspx )

'There are rules in this city

'Never bring them back to your place

'Never more than three shags

'Never tell them your real name

'Never mention the cricket

'Never (ever) cry

Ellen lives a shiny life in the heart of a shiny city. She hates her office job, the 'alcohol isn't making her as drunk as it used to, and she seems to be allergic to the water. But there is always the company of strangers in this city - the stranger, the better. She thinks she's doing fine, except that lingering grief has taken hold and the anonymous guy she's going home with may not be so anonymous.

'A hilarious, touching urban fable of connection and redemption, of moving and moving on, This Year's Ashes welcomes one of our most brutal, insightful and bitingly funny writers Jane Bodie to Griffin. And joining her for this deliciously dark and dirty theatrical bender is one of our hottest new directing talents, Shannon Murphy.

'This Year's Ashes is a reluctant romantic comedy about Sydney, grief and cricket.'

Source: Griffin Theatre Company.

'About a group of 20-somethings living in the urban environs of St Kilda. They have yet to make it, but know it's just a matter of time.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 28/11/2013)