Australian Theatre for Young People explores road to young adulthood in Two Peas production Drift

THE bittersweet transition to young adulthood is captured in the Australian Theatre for Young People’s newest production Drift.

Tara Clark with husband Oleg Pupovac are producing the Australia Theatre for Young People’s newest play Drift Picture: Christian Gilles

THE road to young adulthood is a costly one — paid with knowledge of the brevity and fragility of life.

This tenuous and often bittersweet transition is captured in the Australian Theatre for Young People’s newest production Drift.

Written and directed by Tara Clark, who operates independent theatre company Two Peas with her husband Oleg Pupovac, the play centres on that moment where the world opens up only to collapse after a horrifying loss.

Tara Clark and Oleg Pupovac, co-directors of Two Peas Theatre Company. Picture: Christian Gilles

“It’s about that point in your life when you’re no longer a teenager and you’re starting to figure out who you are and how you fit into the world,” Clark said.

“You stop following the institutions of your youth — like your school and church and parents and you start to make choices for yourself.”

Drift follows six friends, five of whom are dealing with the loss of one and “how it shapes who they are and how they deal with the world and how they now see themselves through a very tumultuous time,” Clark said.

The Scandinavian Film Festival boasts Nordic talent on the big screen in Sydney

Apart from Clark, all the cast members and production crew are 26 or younger, holding true to the values of ATYP as a platform for young performers to shine — and give raw performances which reflect a depth of recently lived experience as well as the joy of figuring life out for themselves.

“That’s where these characters are in their lives, they’re no longer an extension of their parents or their schools or their families ... something happens and they have to take responsibility for them,” Clark said.

Olivia Jubb in rehearsals for Drift.

Challito Browne in rehearsals for Drift.

When you get to your early twenties, you begin to understand what death means, and “everything within that”, Pupovac said.

While the play deals with grief, there are still many sweet moments.

“While it does deal with grief we wanted to tell it with as much joy as we can,” Clark said.

Drift at ATYP

Drift, written by Tara Clark and Kieran Foster, opens at ATYP on Friday, July 22, and runs until Saturday, July 30.

The play stars Ayeehsa Ash, Challito Browne, Olivia Jubb, Adam Kovarik, Alex Packard and Lauren Pegus.

Tickets from $20 at thetwopeas.com