Wild, unpredictable, and deeply vulnerable, Barbara and her sister René are singing for their lives. Barbaras been trying to make it in Sydney, but when their mothers health deteriorates, the sisters embark on a pilgrimage back home to country. Full of painful, unfinished business for Barbara, their return sends her into a downward spiral. Can Barbara find a way to resolve the past in time to preserve love in the only family she has known? Through music that ranges from punk-inspired explosions of rage, to tender rock and soul ballads full of yearning, Barbara and the Camp Dogs is a gob-spit of fun, frenzy and family that finds beauty in honesty and hope in confronting the past.
Ursula Yovich grew up in the Northern Territory, in Darwin and Maningrida. She has appeared at venues including the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York, and the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House. For Belvoir, Ursula has appeared in A Christmas Carol, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, The Sapphires, The Dreamers and The Small Poppies, and she also won the Balnaves Foundation Indigenous Playwrights Award in 2016. Other theatre credits include Diving for Pearls (Griffin); Heart is a Wasteland (Malthouse); Love and Information (Malthouse/Sydney Theatre Company); The Secret River, The Golden Age, Bloodland (Sydney Theatre Company); Mother Courage and Her Children (Queensland Theatre Company); Barefoot Divas (Sydney Festival); Waltzing the Wilarra (Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company); the national tour of the one-woman show The Magic Hour (Performing Lines); and Ursulas cabaret show Magpie Blues, which had its world premiere in Adelaide and toured major venues across Australia. Ursula has been nominated for Helpmann Awards for her performances in Mother Courage and Her Children and Magpie Blues. Ursula featured in Baz Luhrmanns Australia and Ray Lawrences Jindabyne on the big screen, and her television credits include The Code, Devils Dust, Redfern Now, Rake, The Gods of Wheat Street, Murundak: Songs of Freedom, $9.99, Arcadia, My Bed Your Bed, Blacktrax, Message Stick, Blue Heelers and Songlines.
Alana Valentine's most recent award nomination is the Nick Enright Prize for Drama (NSW Premiers Literary Awards, 2017) for Ladies Day. She is the recipient of two Errols (Tasmanian Theatre Awards, 2017) for The Tree Widows, which was awarded Best Writing (Professional Production) and the overall Judges Award for her creative integration of community, culture and heritage. Alana was also nominated for an Errol for Best Director (Professional Production) for The Tree Widows. In 2017 Alana is again working with Bangarra Dance Theatre as dramaturg on Bennelong, after successful collaborations on their productions Patyegarang and ID. Barbara and the Camp Dogs, co-written with Ursula Yovich, will be produced by Belvoir in December 2017. In November 2017, Venus Theatre Company (USA) will world premiere Alanas play The Ravens. An extensive national tour of Letters to Lindy is planned for 2018. Alanas website is www.alanavalentine.com.
