Barbara Claes is a theatre maker, writer, and performer. Writing and musicality are essential elements of her artistic practice. Her work is not confined to traditional theatre spaces—she actively seeks out collaborations in broader social contexts, often working with people in psychiatric care and other vulnerable communities. Over the years, Claes has created several notable theatre productions and performances, including Euthanasie met Barbara en Stefanie, The Fioretti Project, Jordy (a poignant piece about Jordy Brouillard, a young man from institutional care who died in a tent in Ghent shortly after turning eighteen), and Akaaremoertoe Bahikoeroe, a tragicomic family drama for which she was nominated for the Dutch-Flemish Taalunie Playwriting Prize in 2016.

Together with a group of interdisciplinary artists, she co-founded the collective LUCINDA RA. The collective explores socially relevant themes within the arts and actively engages with specific societal contexts, such as psychiatric institutions and social housing communities. In the spring of 2022, LUCINDA RA received the Ultima for Performing Arts, the official Flemish Culture Prize for 2021. In 2021 Barbara created Honey I’m Real I Exist, a biographical theatre piece about her marriage to her then Indian husband. She also frequently collaborates with her twin sister, theatre maker Stefanie Claes. Currently, she is developing Katrientje, a piece about her deceased sister; Boeman Loekepee, her first theatre production for children, based on the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

In 2025, Cove Park developed a new residency programme in partnership with Flanders Literature and Modern Culture as part of Flip through Flanders. Flip through Flanders is an initiative that promotes Dutch-language literature from Flanders across the UK and Ireland and shines a spotlight on the literary landscape of northern Belgium. It is managed by Flanders Literature and Modern Culture.