About
Driftwood The Musical is an inspirational story about the renowned artists Karl and Slawa Duldig and their miraculous escape from the Holocaust.
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.
Driftwood is a story of art and creativity, survival and perseverance, family and love and the endurance of the human spirit. This is a piece of musical theatre about the resilience found through creativity and in the face of adversity. 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 captures 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 plight of refugees during wartime and the themes of loss, escape, migration, internment and resettlement remain relevant in modern Australia. They are dramatically illustrated through this uplifting true story of survival and add to its universal appeal. As we recover from a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, the themes also mirror today’s growing global dislocation, division, discrimination, uncertainty, fear and isolation, increased surveillance and closed borders, as well as the loss of community and connection that threatens our social fabric and, ultimately, our humanity.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, an exceptional German Protestant minister during the Nazi regime stated: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” If we are to survive as free human beings, we must speak out against discrimination. We must not ever be silent again — not today, not tomorrow, not ever.
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.
