{"id":121063,"date":"2026-04-05T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/?p=121063"},"modified":"2026-04-01T20:02:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T09:02:30","slug":"lots-to-dig-about-the-dog-logs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/living\/lots-to-dig-about-the-dog-logs\/","title":{"rendered":"Lots to dig about The Dog Logs"},"content":{"rendered":"

WHEN theatre-maker Gin O’Brien found a script for a play about dogs she knew straight away she must stage it.<\/p>\n

As a result, Ballarat National Theatre is now getting ready to present the local premiere of The Dog Logs, a play written by C.J. Johnson and directed by O’Brien in her directorial debut.<\/p>\n

“I love dogs,” said O’Brien who is vice president of BNT and known for prior appearances in stage shows including Wyrd Sisters and Steel Magnolias.<\/p>\n

“When I came across The Dog Logs, I knew I had to put it on,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It was Australian, it was all done in monologues and it was about dogs. Perfect.<\/p>\n

“When I was a child, my parents bred and showed dogs. This interest meant weekends spent at dog shows and a house full of dogs who lived inside and took up all the couches in the living room.”<\/p>\n

O’Brien’s background provides this first-time director the sort of pooch-centric profile to help bring Johnson’s script to life.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Actors Grant Johnson and Josh Shuttleworth are among cast members currently in rehearsal for The Dog Logs. Photo: Supplied.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

From a tough Rottweiler with neighbour problems, to a prima donna toy poodle who wants attention, the collection of hilarious and heart-breaking monologues examines the lives of dogs across many breeds, ages and situations.<\/p>\n

In the process it digs up stories of friendship, romance, and revenge to offer a refreshing take on canine life that’s touching and surprisingly human.<\/p>\n

The cast features a line-up of local actors including Ethan McCart as MC, Laura Farrow as Maddie and Tallulah, Jessica Hillman as Sparky, Peppa and Polly, Grant Johnson as Borys, Alfred, Samson, Mungo and Blacki, Josh Shuttleworth as Scarface, Sherlock and Ando, Lily Smith as Savoir Faire, and Pat Warfe as Jack.<\/p>\n

The Dog Logs is being staged at the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute with eight performances available to fetch between Friday 10 and Sunday 19 April, with evening and matinee options.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WHEN theatre-maker Gin O’Brien found a script for a play about dogs she knew straight away she must stage it. As a result, Ballarat National Theatre is now getting ready to present the local premiere of The Dog Logs, a play written by C.J. Johnson and directed by O’Brien in her directorial debut. “I love […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":244,"featured_media":121068,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-121063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLots to dig about The Dog Logs - Ballarat Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Catch The Dog Logs play at Ballarat National Theatre. A touching, hilarious collection of canine monologues directed by Gin O'Brien.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/living\/lots-to-dig-about-the-dog-logs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lots to dig about The Dog Logs - Ballarat Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Catch The Dog Logs play at Ballarat National Theatre. A touching, hilarious collection of canine monologues directed by Gin O'Brien.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/living\/lots-to-dig-about-the-dog-logs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ballarat Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-04T18:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/04\/Tng-1-April-2026-36.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Evie Lamb\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Evie Lamb\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/living\\\/lots-to-dig-about-the-dog-logs\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/living\\\/lots-to-dig-about-the-dog-logs\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Evie Lamb\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3e7d21b2c6dfc298cf678c776c4e5166\"},\"headline\":\"Lots to dig about The Dog Logs\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-04T18:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/living\\\/lots-to-dig-about-the-dog-logs\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":346,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/living\\\/lots-to-dig-about-the-dog-logs\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Tng-1-April-2026-36.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Living\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/living\\\/lots-to-dig-about-the-dog-logs\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/living\\\/lots-to-dig-about-the-dog-logs\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lots to dig about The Dog Logs - Ballarat Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/living\\\/lots-to-dig-about-the-dog-logs\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/living\\\/lots-to-dig-about-the-dog-logs\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/Tng-1-April-2026-36.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-04T18:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Catch The Dog Logs play at Ballarat National Theatre. 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