“Sergeant Snow White” back on stage

All those involved were deported to Australia by the British on the HMT Dunera after fleeing Nazi persecution in mid-1940. In order to remain in the country after their internment ended in mid-1942, they were offered voluntary service in an unarmed unit. Many of the soldiers were artists; they had already produced plays in the internment camp. On the anniversary of the end of their internment and their entry into the armed forces, they wowed the audience with a satirical musical revue.

The performance “was an eye-opener on how imaginative and inventive a soldier show can be – despite limited resources and a cast made up mostly of amateurs”, reports Australian magazine Pix under the headline “Alien soldier show takes the piss out of Nazis”: The Seven Dwarfs join a labour company. However, Snow White does not appear in the play because she is in a concentration camp due to the dubious Aryan origins of her creators, the Brothers Grimm.
The reporter saw “theatre of flesh and blood” and referred to the involvement of several professionals: the film producer Kurt Sternberg, who produced and directed the play and appeared on stage himself as Sergeant Sternberg, was mentioned. The tenor Erich Liffmann, the dancer Peter Schmitz, , the actor Sigurd Lohde and the painter Emil Wittenberg were also involved at the time.

Almost exactly on the 81st anniversary of its premiere in 1943, students from the JMC Academy will be on stage at the Belvoire Street Theatre in Sydney from 17 to 20 April. Theatre scholar Ian Maxwell and music historian Joseph Toltz share the direction and musical rehearsals.

Peter Dehn, in April 2024.