Best New Zealand Playwrights

While the Kiwis may be famous for Peter Jackson, Jane Campion and Taika Waititi in the film world, they’ve got some golden playwrights too! Here’s a little listicle detailing some of the best writers for the stage in NZ. It’s tough work coordinating a list of the best when there are so many excellent playwrights to choose from. In creating the list we have considered their contribution to New Zealand theatre, writing style, issues detailed in the work, and popular opinion. We hope that from this list you go forth and dive into reading more plays that perhaps you wouldn’t have otherwise encountered – to help you out we’ve listed a couple of the playwrights’ most prominent plays below.

Our Top Picks

#1 Bruce Mason

The End of the Golden Weather, The Pohutukawa Tree

#2 Briar Grace-Smith

Ngā Pou Wāhine, When Sun and Moon Collide

#3 Greg McGee

Foreskin’s Lament, Tooth and Claw

#4 Riwia Brown

Roimata, Nga Wahine (The Women)

#5 Roger Hall

Glide Time, Conjugal Rites

#6 Hone Kouka

Nga Tangata Toa (The Warrior People), Waiora

#7 Jacob Rajan

Krishnan’s Dairy, The Candlestick Maker

#8 Robert Lord

Joyful and Triumphant, It Isn’t Cricket

#9 Renée

Setting the Table, Missionary Position

#10 Toa Fraser

No. 2, BARE