The Musical “The Soldier’s Wife”
Powerful, passionate and deeply personal – The Soldiers Wife is a unique theatrical music project designed to document through song the untold, emotional stories-behind-the-stories of the sacrifice of women and families behind Australia’s pastime in war.
The Soldier’s Wife project will present those stories live for audiences at a very special show at the Sydney Opera House on Friday August 7. The musical features a stellar all-female cast of performers such as Ms Murphy, Jackie Marshall, Bertie Page and more.
First launched in 2014, The Soldiers Wife initiative saw a group of female Queensland songwriters spend time with the widows and wives of Australian servicemen, listening to the stories from those whose partners served their country in conflicts from WW2 until the present day, including deployments through Asia, the Pacific and The Middle East. Those stories were then turned into songs, creating a uniquely Australian historical record which is now being taken to the world both through recordings and the live arena.
The overall aim of the project is simple: to give women of war in Australia an opportunity to share their own stories of personal sacrifice and commitment and to raise community awareness of the issues faced by those who struggle with war from a different point of view, long after the public discussion fades and the TV coverage ends. Ranging from uplifting tales of success, to challenging and often heart-wrenching recounts of both their husbands and their own experiences with war, each remarkable story told has been adapted into a song by some of Queensland’s leading female musicians;
“Receiving the support from the ANZAC Centenary Fund has allowed us to spend some time in regional areas in 2015 and gather more stories from women from those regions. It has also allowed us to record all of the songs and we will release a full – length album of these songs this year.” (Project Manager Deb Suckling)
What: Musical “The Soldier’s Wife”
Where: Sydney Opera House
When: Friday August 7, 7.30pm