AFTER THE FLOOD to Premiere in Melbourne Starring Deborah Conway

This November, a major new work of Australian Jewish theatre will come to Melbourne. After the Flood is an original contemporary musical that reimagines the biblical story of Noah and the flood through one Melbourne Jewish family confronting a world that can no longer be recovered.

As the waters approach, old wounds rise to the surface. A family gathered around a Shabbat table must confront questions of faith, inheritance, grief and love — and decide what they will carry with them into whatever comes next.

With music and lyrics by Melbourne composer and theatre-maker Ari Jacob and a book by Jacob and Josh Gurgiel, After the Flood brings together an all-Jewish cast and creative team for an ambitious new work of Australian musical theatre. The production stars acclaimed singer, songwriter and performer Deborah Conway as Naama, alongside Simon Starr as Noah. Rounding out the cast of five are Michelle Swersky, Eli Faraday and Amira Cherrie.

We are introduced to the family as they gather around the Shabbat table. There, brimming strife and turmoil threaten the family's unity. Eventually, Noah has a vision of a catastrophic flood and this is dismissed by the family as the product of an overactive imagination. But as rain begins to fall and an Ark takes shape, the family is forced to reckon with the fractures that have quietly been growing between them.

Noah's three children are each facing their own questions about identity, faith, love and the future. As the world they know begins to disappear, the family must decide whether they can let go of the inherited beliefs and burdens that keep them apart - and make a new promise to remain connected.

At its heart, After the Flood is a story about mourning: mourning the people, places and worlds we have lost, while facing the possibility that something new might emerge from their ruins.

Jacob's score will be performed live by a ten-piece band. It includes traditional oud and kamancheh played by two Iranian musicians Jacob connected with during the recent war — bringing sounds and musical influences from across the region into the production.

Deborah Conway remarked 'I am fortunate that I have been presented the opportunity to play in these themes, a sweet, idyllic calm in amongst the tempestuous times.'

The production is directed by Rebecca Skovron, with movement direction by Yakira Abraham and musical direction by Adam Starr. Together with Jacob and co-writer Josh Gurgiel, they lead a wider creative team of Jewish Australian artists working across theatre, music, movement, design and production.

After the Flood was commissioned with support from the Victorian Government's Connecting Cultures program, with additional support from the Pratt Foundation, the Liberman Foundation, the Victor Smorgon Group and the Dindas Charitable Fund.

At a time when Jewish artists are navigating an increasingly difficult cultural landscape, After the Flood is an act of Jewish artistic creation in Melbourne: an ancient story retold by Jewish artists, for a contemporary audience, on a major Melbourne stage.