If you enjoyed the film Once or the production What Rhymes With Cars And Girls, you’ll love Barbara & The Camp Dogs, as director Leticia Cáceres tells us of the powerful new show at Malthouse Theatre.
Staring Ursula Yovich and Alana Valentine, Barbara & The Camp Dogs follows pub rock muso Barbara, whose world is thrown upside down when she hears that her mum is sick, which leads to a “wrenching road trip” with her cousin Rene to reconnect with her family.
Cáceres gave us some insight into what you can expect from the production which opens this Thursday and runs until March 3.
How would you describe Barbara & The Camp Dogs?
Someone described Ursula’s performance like seeing Janis Joplin or Etta James ripping their soul bare, and I think that basically sums up the experience! It’s passionate, it’s soulful and it’s deeply affecting.
Tell us about the venue setup and how that contributes to the show…
We always imagined that the audience has come to see the release of the latest album by Barbara & The Camp Dogs, and that the album was inspired by the story that is being told by the performers in between the songs.
The events and relationships that are enacted have resulted in the songs of the set you will hear. So, we set the show in a dingy and carpeted pub where some of the best unsigned musical talent are still slogging it out, singing their hearts out, and expressing poetic truths like only musicians can.
When you enter the space, it feels like you can smell the stale beer in the carpet, and the hot chips being cooked in the kitchen. If you’re lucky, you might have scored a seat on one of the comfy old couches that sometimes furnishes these venues, or at one of the bistro tables, up close to the band and the action, ready for a night of original Australian music and storytelling.
What has it been like working with writers and stars Ursula Yovich and Alana Valentine?
It’s been a very fruitful and robust collaboration. Ursula and Alana had a very tight writing partnership that was established over years of developing this work. When I first was brought on to the project I had to learn their way of working and my place within that relationship. My role was to be the first audience to their story, so I was able to say what was clear, what was not, and together we refined the story. We also worked closely interweaving their songs into the play, allowing the music to fill the gaps for what characters are too scared to say, or feel. It was a thrilling experience.
How would you compare this project to other productions you’ve been involved with?
Working with legendary Indigenous artists like Ursula, and Elaine, and Troy, I tried very hard to exercise deep listening, and not impose. I’ve been invited into a process of telling a story that is culturally and politically very personal and sensitive. I’m here to support a vision and to craft the story; my ownership over this work is only earned by the respect and trust I have gained in this process of collaborating with these artists. But in every other way, the process has been the same as putting on any other show: we worked very hard, we searched for truth, and we found the most entertaining way to tell this story…and on a daily basis, their extraordinary voices reduced me to tears…
What do you hope people take away from Barbara and the Camp Dogs?
I hope Barbara and Rene live long in the hearts of audience members as the unforgettable characters they are. I hope audiences walk away humming some of the best Australian music they’ll hear this year, and I hope that like the characters, audiences will also “let in the love”.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I would strongly recommend booking early and trying to get a seat on one of the couches or bar tables on set (they’re the cheaper ones too!). There is no audience participation, you get to be up close to the action and front row when Ursula and Elaine blow the roof off the Malthouse Theatre. DO NOT MISS IT!
Head to the Malthouse Theatre website for more details.
