Adaptations of three short stories by Barbara Baynton.

For women in the late 19th century, the Australian bush was often a place of violence and isolation, demanding resourcefulness and resilience. Drunken sundowners, insensitive husbands and unforgiving environments were all part of the landscape. Barbara Baynton, who managed to escape her impoverished bush beginnings, stated definitively "The Bush is no place for a woman". Best known for 'Bush Studies' which she wrote in response to Henry Lawson's male view of life, Baynton’s writing is psychological, poetic and alive with striking imagery.

In SQUEAKER’S MATE, a bed-ridden woman first watches her husband squander all that she has worked for, then bring home another, younger woman to replace her. In A DREAMER, a pregnant woman journeying to the house of her youth loses her way in a storm, but is drawn to safety by the ever-present voice of her mother. The young wife and baby in THE CHOSEN VESSEL however, left all alone by an indifferent husband, fall foul of a dangerous stranger.

This production bears all the hallmarks that have made Petty Traffickers one of Victoria’s most exciting theatre companies, with their highly physical performances of narrative prose and contemporary take on stories from this country’s literary cannon.