For forty years, Judy and Donna have lived together in their caravan in a relationship both tender and toxic. Caravan takes a good hard look at what binds a mother and daughter together.
We are excited to be presenting this production in conjunction with Malthouse Theatre and Melbourne Festival. After working for nearly ten years together on various styles of work, from theatre to circus to site specific, this is our first time performing together onstage.
It all started with dinner around a table in a small kitchen in Brunswick.
We invited four writers to come on board, each drawing the name of an organ from a hat—the body, death and organ donation were our initial themes. And so it began… dinners spent chewing the fat, laughing, shouting, eating, reading, editing, laughing, arguing, refining, laughing, eating and more editing.
In December 2015, in forty degree heat, we hired a caravan and parked it in a car park in Collingwood. For ten days we sweated it out, combining the four scripts from the writers to create the first draft of what would become Caravan.
With the help of a portable air conditioner we eventually did four showings to small, invited audiences. Since then we have returned many times to the table in the kitchen in Brunswick to eat, laugh, shout and redraft some more.
It’s been an absolute delight and pleasure to work with this extraordinary team of writers and designers. We appreciate their passion and dedication to the work.
We are now excited to open up the van and share the fun and chaos within.
CREATORS & PERFORMERS / Susie Dee & Nicci Wilks
To register as an organ donor:
register.donatelife.gov.au
Thank you:
Circus Oz
The Horwell Family
Keira Lyons
Thistle St Trattoria
Declan Greene
Caravan also received support from Screen Australia’s Gender Matters program for a Multiplatform version, so look out online for more adventures of Judy and Donna.