Jean Betts is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, actor and director.

Background

Jean Betts emigrated with her parents (both founders of

Unity Theatre, London Unity Theatre was a theatre club formed in 1936, and initially based in St Judes Hall, Britannia Street, Somers Town, London NW1. In 1937, it moved to a former chapel in Goldington Street, also in Somers Town, an area which is part of the prese ...

), to Christchurch, New Zealand. She obtained a degree at University of Canterbury in English Literature and New Zealand and Pacific History. Betts graduated from Toi Whakaari: the New Zealand Drama School in 1970, the inaugural year when its founder, Nola Millar, was principal. Her classmates were Elizabeth Coulter,

Jennifer Ludlam Jennifer Kay "Jenny" Ludlam (born 23 July 1951 in Taumarunui, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born actress, who remains best known for her roles in Australian television. Acting roles In Australia, she was a regular cast member in the short-li ...

, Denise Maunder, Joanna Miekle, John Otto, William (Bill) Petley,

Darien Takle Darien may refer to: Places Central America * Darién Gap, break in the Pan-American Highway between Colombia and Panama * Darién National Park * Darién Province * Gulf of Darién * "... a peak in Darien", phrase in Keats's poem "On First L ...

and Bevan Wilson.

Career

She has written many plays including Revenge of the Amazons, Ophelia Thinks Harder, The Collective and The Misandrist. The Collective is a dramatisation of the story of Brecht's theatre collective based on the book "Brecht & Co" by John Fuegi. She worked for many years as actor and director at Gateway,

BATS Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

Downstage Theatre Downstage Theatre was a professional theatre company in Wellington, New Zealand, that ran from 1964 to 2013. For many years it occupied the purpose-built Hannah Playhouse building. Former directors include Sunny Amey, Mervyn Thompson, and Coli ...

and

Circa Theatre Circa Theatre is a professional theatre company in Wellington, New Zealand, that was established in 1976. They present a number of plays each year in their two auditoriums, and have a unique partnership and funding model with incoming shows unde ...

. She was involved with the development of professional theatre in New Zealand including as a foundation member of

Playmarket Playmarket is a not-for-profit organisation providing script advisory services, representation for playwrights in New Zealand and access to New Zealand plays. Playmarket was founded in 1973 to encourage the professional production of New Zealand p ...

(New Zealand, 1975),

(Wellington, 1976) and

Taki Rua Taki Rua is a theatre organisation based in Wellington, Aotearoa / New Zealand that has produced many contemporary Māori theatre productions. Taki Rua has been going since 1983 and has had several name changes over that time including The New Depo ...

/The Depot Theatre (Wellington, 1983). In 1979 Jean worked at ESTA (English Speaking Theatre Amsterdam) as actor/director, and was a founding member of the expatriate (New Zealand) group 'The Heartache and Sorrow Company' (directing) which presented work in Amsterdam, Germany, Australia, London and at the Edinburgh Festival, where the group received a 'Fringe First' and a Scotsman's Award. In 1993 she was a founding member of WOPPA (Women's Professional Playwrights Association), set up to celebrate NZ's centenary of women's suffrage with a group of new plays by women, which premiered her play ''Ophelia Thinks Harder.'' and established The Women's Play Press with

Lorae Parry Lorae Ann Parry is a New Zealand playwright and actor. Biography and education She was born in 1955 in Sydney, Australia and in 1970 moved to New Zealand. Parry has two qualifications, a Diploma in Acting from Toi Whakaari, the national New ...

Cathy Downes Catherine Patricia Downes (born 1951) is a New Zealand theatre director, actor, dramaturg and playwright. Of Māori descent, she affiliates to Ngāi Tahu. Downes wrote a one-woman play ''The Case of Katherine Mansfield'', which she has perfor ...

Vivienne Plumb Vivienne Christiana Gracia Plumb (born 4 April 1955) is New Zealand poet, playwright, fiction writer, and editor. Biography Plumb is of both New Zealand and Australian heritage. Born in Sydney, Australia, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree i ...

and

Fiona Samuel Fiona Samuel (born 1961) is a New Zealand writer, actor and director who was born in Scotland. Samuel's award-winning career spans theatre, film, radio and television. She graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 1980 with a ...

. Her plays

Ophelia Thinks Harder Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends up in ...

, a feminist response to Shakespeare’s play ''Hamlet'', and Revenge of the Amazons, a feminist re-vamp of A Midsummer Night's Dream, have subsequently been produced many times. In 2005 she set up a small NZ play publishing project, The Play Press (www.playpress.co.nz).

Awards

She has been a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize twice; and in 2015 received the

Award of $20,000 for her contribution to New Zealand Theatre.

Plays

* 2014 - Genesis Falls (Finalist, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize) * 2012 - Into the Uncanny Valley (BATS Theatre, Wellington) * 2010 - The Man from Tamil Nadu * 2005 - The Collective (BATS Theatre, Wellington; Finalist, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize) * 2000 - The Misandrist (an angry comedy) - (BATS Theatre, Wellington; winner, Aoraki Festival Playwriting Award) * 1996 - Saskia's Version (BATS Theatre, Wellington) * 1995 - Camelot School (Allen Hall, Dunedin) * 1995 - Strange Brew (BATS Theatre, Wellington) * 1993 - Ophelia Thinks Harder (Circa Theatre, Wellington) * 1990 - Digger and Nudger Try Harder (with Parry & McGlone, BATS Theatre & Taki Rua Theatre, Wellington) * 1989 - Digger and Nudger (with Parry & McGlone, Hen's Teeth/ Circa Theatre, Wellington) * 1986 - Leave All Fair (screenplay, written with Pons, Reid, Harper) * 1983 - Revenge of the Amazons (Circa Theatre, Wellington) * 1980 - Leaving Home (compiled with Barbara Ewing, performed Edinburgh Festival 1980) * 1977 - Dada (Downstage Theatre, Wellington) * 1976 - Fairy Tales (Theatre 87, Wellington) * 1974 - Bloomsberries (Downstage Theatre, Wellington) * 1973 - The Nobodies from Nowhere (co-written with Ludlam, Frost, Minifie & Wahren; Gateway Theatre, Tauranga)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Betts, Jean Living people 20th-century New Zealand dramatists and playwrights New Zealand women dramatists and playwrights Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century New Zealand women writers 21st-century New Zealand dramatists and playwrights 21st-century New Zealand women writers Toi Whakaari alumni