Susan Accushla Wilson is a New Zealand director and actor. Wilson was one of the founders of Wellington's

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 ...

and the Circa Council in 1976 and has had a long career at the theatre as a stage actor and director.

Acting

Wilson played the role of Beryl in the popular television programme ''

Gliding On ''Gliding On'' is a New Zealand sitcom that aired from 1981 to 1985. It was written by Roger Hall and adapted from his play ''Glide Time'', and directed by Tony Holden. The series depicts the working lives of four staff members at a government ...

'' over 5 series between 1981 and 1985. Her work in television also includes roles in ''

Mortimer's Patch ''Mortimer's Patch'' was a popular TVNZ police drama from the early 1980s. It featured actors Terence Cooper, Sean Duffy, Don Selwyn and Jim Hickey and depicted detective and police work in the fictional town of "Cobham". It was filmed in a ...

'', and '' Close to Home''. She also appeared as Aunt Daisy in an episode of ''Pioneer Women''.

Director

Wilson's productions include many winners of

Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards The Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards were the main theatre awards in New Zealand's capital city, Wellington, from 1992–2014, and have been succeeded by the Wellington Theatre Awards. Established in 1992 and sponsored by law firm Chapman Tripp, ...

including ''

Angels in America ''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a two-part play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The work won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the Drama Desk Award for O ...

'', ''Joyful and Triumphant'', ''

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

'', and ''Death of a Salesman''. She has been a script advisor for

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 ...

and

Television New Zealand , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the Solom ...

script editor. As of 2021, Wilson continues as a Director at Circa Theatre. Wilson has been directing

pantomimes Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

at Circa Theatre over years, a recent was ''Cinderella'' (2020) written by Simon Leary & Gavin Rutherford.

Honours and awards

In 1982, Wilson won Best Actress in the Feltex Television Awards, for ''

'' and ''

''. In 1992, Wilson won the Best Director award at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards for her direction of Robert Lord's ''Joyful and Triumphant.'' She won the same award again in 1994 for her production of ''Angels in America''. In 2006, Wilson won Director of the Year in the

for ''Death of a Salesman''. In the 2001 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Wilson was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to theatre.

References

External links

Interview with Susan Wilson (2019)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Susan Living people Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand actresses Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand theatre directors New Zealand women theatre directors

Acting

Director

Honours and awards

References

Further reading

External links