Vanessa Byrnes is a director, actress and educator in New Zealand. She has collaborated on many theatre and screen productions including feature films, short films, television commercials and theatre. As an educator she completed a PhD at the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

in 2015, titled ''Removing the ‘Cloak of Invisibility’: New Zealand Directors Discuss Theatre Directing Praxis''. Byrnes has been in senior roles at both Toi Whakaari and

Unitec Institute of Technology Unitec Institute of Technology (Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Wairaka) is the largest institute of technology in Auckland, New Zealand. 16,844 students study programmes from certificate to postgraduate degree level (levels 1 to 9) across a range of ...

, leading drama training for many years. She is an experienced theatre director and as an actor was in popular television soap opera ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital, first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992. It is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously ...

''. For 11 years Byrnes held the acting department manager job at Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School and she is a graduate of the school from 1994. Previous to that she graduated from

Waikato University , mottoeng = For The People , established = 1964; years ago , endowment = (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $263.6 million (31 December 2020) , chancellor = Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO, KStJ , vice_chancellor = Neil Quigley , city ...

with a Masters in 1992. Byrnes has a PhD from Waikato University (2015) looking at 'the praxis of selected New Zealand text-based theatre directors'. Byrnes is the Head of School, Creative Industries at Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland.

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

productions has been part of Byrnes' repertoire and in 2000 she was the first New Zealander to be an assistant director at Shakespeare’s

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

in London. This was on ''

The Two Noble Kinsmen ''The Two Noble Kinsmen'' is a Jacobean tragicomedy, first published in 1634 and attributed jointly to John Fletcher and William Shakespeare. Its plot derives from "The Knight's Tale" in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales'', which had ...

'' with Tim Carroll. In 2016 Byrnes adapted and directed Shakespeare's ''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around ...

'' in New Zealand''.'' A review on Theatre Scenes said it 'manages to balance the play’s plot turns with a sense of wit and imagination'. It was presented at the

Pop-Up Globe Pop-up Globe was a New Zealand theatre production company, based in Auckland, New Zealand. It produced Jacobean theatre, particularly the works of Shakespeare, in specially-built temporary replicas of the second Globe, the theatre Shakespeare an ...

in Bard's Yard, Auckland. As an actor Byrnes appeared in New Zealand's long running soap opera ''

''. She has numerous TV and film credits to her name including ''Mirror Mirror'', ''The Strip'' and ''Step Dave.'' She directed ''Tarnished Frocks and Divas'' in 2011 in the Bay of Plenty. As well as her academic writing, Byrnes often writes reviews for theatre productions.

Directing credits

Board membership

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 ...

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 ...

* Shakespeare Globe Centre (NZ) * TAPAC: The Auckland Performing Arts Centre

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrnes, Vanessa Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century New Zealand dramatists and playwrights New Zealand theatre directors New Zealand women theatre directors New Zealand women dramatists and playwrights New Zealand academics Toi Whakaari alumni