Drift (radio play)

Drift is a 1941 Australian radio play by Thomas Wainwright.{{Citation

| title=Australia on the Air

|magazine=ABC Weekly

| date=18 January 1941

| url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1309865275

| access-date=8 February 2024

| via=Trove

}}

Gilchrist was a sailor and based the play on his own experiences on a route to Nauru.{{Citation

| title=Plays of the Air

|magazine=ABC Weekly

| date=18 January 1941

| url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1309866548

| access-date=8 February 2024

| via=Trove

}} He wrote a number of short stories over the years.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article246998971 |title=Our Short Story |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |volume=4 |issue=269 |date=27 December 1934 |access-date=8 February 2024 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}} His other radio plays included You'll Write to Irene{{Citation

| title=Radio Plays for Next Week A. B. C.

|magazine=ABC Weekly

| date=24 March 1956

| url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1427919464

| access-date=8 February 2024

| via=Trove

}} and The Pilgrimmage.

Leslie Rees called it, and Gilchrist's Aphrodite, among the best plays of the year.{{Citation

| title=Plays of the Air Best of the Year

|magazine=ABC Weekly

| date=20 December 1941

| url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1323474773

| access-date=8 February 2024

| via=Trove

}}

Premise

"Drift gives a graphic pictures of the "nerves' on board a ship drifting day after day on the equatorial current of the phosphate island of Nauru, and culminating in death and mutiny. Written by a man who has him-self sailed the seven seas and commanded his own ship, Drift has the authentic ring and flavor of life aboard a tramp steamer."{{Citation

| title=Friday Jan. 24

|magazine=The Wireless Weekly

| date=January 18, 1941

| url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-713156703

| access-date=8 February 2024

| via=Trove

}}

References