Bio
WRITER | COMPOSER | DIRECTOR
STAGE + SCREEN
Ursula Yovich is an extraordinary multi-hyphenate artist: an award-winning actor, writer, director, singer, song-writer and storyteller in both stage and screen, performing on stages across Australia and internationally, including Carnegie Hall (Australia Plays Broadway), New York.
Ursula created and originated the titular role in Barbara and the Camp Dogs, which premiered at Belvoir Street Theatre and toured nationally, winning her a Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Musical in 2019. Ursula also won Helpmann Awards for Best Female Actor in a Play in 2007 for Capricornia, and for her cabaret show, Magpie Blues (her 2010 album, Ursula Yovich Live, features songs from the show). Most recently she co-wrote Tracker (Australian Dance Theatre, Ilbijerri Theatre Company) which is currently touring nationally.
Ursula’s cabaret An Evening with Ursula Yovich debuted at Ensemble Theatre in 2022, and played The Sydney Festival 2023. She appeared in Four Little Birds in 2015 for the Garmalang Festival, Darwin, (and MC’d the Festival’s Santos Opening Night Concert the previous year); Melbourne Comedy Festival (Eddie Perfect) in 2016 and toured extensively in Australia, NZ and the US with The Black Arm Band on their Dirtsong tour. Ursula has also appeared at Claire’s Kitchen in Sydney.
Ursula won a Best Supporting Actor Film Critic’s Circle Award in 2020 and an AACTA Best Supporting Actor nomination in 2019 for her role in the feature film Top End Wedding; other films include Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, Goldstone, This Winter, Around the Block, and Jindabyne.
Her other screen credits include Netflix’s Irreverent, Foxtel’s The Twelve, ABC’s Preppers, Amazon’s The Moth Effect, ABC iView’s Wakefield, Mystery Road, The Code, Devil’s Dust, Redfern Now, The Gamers, Faboriginal, How to Stay Married, Playschool, The Gods of Wheat Street, Doctor Doctor, Rake, and Wanted. Ursula is the voice of ‘Levi’ in the NITV/SBS children’s animated TV series, Little J & Big Cuz, on which she is also a writer.
Ursula has taken part in the National Playwrights Conference (Canberra), National Play Festival (Perth), National Script Workshops for Playwrighting Australia (Sydney), and was the recipient in 2015 of the Balnaves Foundation’s Indigenous Playwright’s Award and the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Individual Award.
Ursula has directed a development of The Fever and the Fret, and was the Assistant Director of Outdated and most recently the director of A Letter For Molly for the Ensemble Theatre.
Ursula is currently co-writing a feature film, a stage play, and is involved in the creative development of numerous other new works across stage and screen.
For full list of acting credits, please refer to the link in Showcast (as above).
Further info >> imbd
Reviews
"Barbara and the Camp Dogs is a show that takes the ground from under you, even as it entertains the hell out of you..."
The Sydney Morning Herald
"...an experience the audience needs to have, [...] to even begin to grasp the suffering and struggle that goes into forging such a brilliant sound." - Barbara and The Camp Dogs
The Sydney Morning Herald
"The music is incredible. From awe-inspiring soul contests to slick pop offerings with country and folk influences, ballads laced with unsung agonies and rousing punk-rock anthems, this is a show with enough bangers for two musicals..."
The Sydney Morning Herald
"In a monologue that rips open the chasm of pain in Barbara's life, Yovich reaches deep within to reveal the searing agony of unjust suffering. It is the most powerful moment in the show, plumbing gut-wrenching truths and compelling empathy."
Canberra Times