David John O'Donnell is a New Zealand theatre director, actor, and academic based in

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington is Capital of New Zealand, the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the List of cities in New Zealand, third-largest city ...

. He has taught at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

since 1999, and is a full professor.

Early life and education

O'Donnell has a diploma in Acting from Toi Whakaari/New Zealand Drama School (1979), where his contemporaries included

Lani Tupu Lani Tupu (born 4 November 1955), billed variously as Larney Tupu, John Tupu and Lani John Tupu, is a New Zealand actor. Also known as Lani Tupu Jr. Biography Tupu was born in 1955 to an English mother and a Samoan father. Tupu was named after ...

and Simon Phillips. He is a graduate of both

and the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

, where he was awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts (PGrad Dip) and an MA. His 1999 Master's thesis was titled ''Re-staging history: historiographic drama from New Zealand and Australia''.

Work

O'Donnell began his academic career as an assistant lecturer in Theatre Studies at Allen Hall, Otago University (1992 -1998), and has taught at Victoria University of Wellington since 1999, where he is a full professor in the School of English, Film, Theatre, Media Studies and Art History. He has won several Excellence in Teaching Awards. O'Donnell co-edited the 2007 book ''Performing Aotearoa: New Zealand Theatre and Drama in an Age of Transition'' with Marc Maufort. In 2017, he co-authored ''Floating Islanders: Pasifika Theatre in Aotearoa'' with Lisa Warrington. He co-authored ''Playmarket 40: 40 Years of Playwriting in New Zealand'' in 2013 with Laurie Atkinson. He has written and published extensively on aspects of theatre and performance in New Zealand and the Pacific, including articles, book chapters, conference papers and production reviews. He has been the editor of the

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 ...

New Zealand Play Series since 2010, editing to date 17 play collections and theatre books. He is the regional managing editor for New Zealand of ''The Theatre Times'', a website which provides worldwide theatre news. O'Donnell is a full professor in the School of English, Film, Theatre, Media and Communication, and Art History at

, having been promoted to professor in 2019. He has directed many plays, with a strong focus on Shakespeare and works from New Zealand, both professionally and with student performers. Shakespeare productions include several outdoor Summer Shakespeare productions for Victoria University of Wellington, including ''A Midsummer'' ''Night's Dream'' (1991), ''Richard III'' (featuring Jonathan Hendry in the title role) in 1998 and ''Hamlet'', featuring a female 'hero' (Stevie Hancox-Monk) in 2019. He had previously directed ''Hamlet'' in 2005 at Dunedin's

Fortune Theatre The Fortune Theatre is a 432-seat West End theatre in Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster. From 1989 until 2023 the theatre hosted the long running play '' The Woman in Black''. History The site was acquired by aut ...

, and has also directed the ''Henry VI'' trilogy for Toi Whakaari/NZ Drama School at

Te Whaea Te Whaea in Newtown, New Zealand, Newtown, Wellington, New Zealand, is the New Zealand National Dance and Drama Centre, the home to the New Zealand School of Dance and Toi Whakaari, Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School. The name 'Te Whaea' me ...

in 2006. Plays by New Zealand writers he has directed include ''Take Me Home Mr'' by William Walker (2002), ''Te Karakia'' by

Albert Belz Albert Alexander Amahou Belz (born 1973) is a New Zealand actor, writer, and lecturer. Belz was born in Whakatāne. He is Māori, of Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi, and Ngāti Pokai descent. He lived in Auckland from the age of 12, later moving to Ham ...

(2009), ''Heat'' by

Lynda Chanwai-Earle Lynda Chanwai-Earle is a New Zealand writer and radio producer. Her written work includes plays, poems and film scripts. The play ''Ka Shue – Letters Home'' in 1996 is semi-autobiographical and is significant in New Zealand literature as the fi ...

(2010), ''The Great Gatsby'' adapted by Ken Duncum

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 ...

2010, and ''Hole'' by Lynda Chanwai-Earle (2020), amongst a number of others. (See Awards below for more.) As an actor, he has worked professionally for Downstage (Wellington), Centrepoint (Palmerston North) and Wow! Productions (Dunedin) amongst other companies.

Awards

* 2004: Best director for ''Albert Speer'' by David Edgar,

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, t ...

*2006: Production of the Year for ''Yours Truly'' by

, Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards *Nominated for the following Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards: ''The Sojourns of Boy'' by Jo Randerson (best director, best production and most original production 1999); ''Irish Annals of Aotearoa'' by

Simon O'Connor Simon David O'Connor (born 25 February 1976) is a New Zealand politician and a former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the New Zealand National Party, National Party. He represented the Tāmaki (New Zealand electorate), T� ...

(best director, best production and most original production, 2001); ''Yours Truly'' by Albert Belz (best director, 2006); ''Charles Darwin:'' ''Collapsing Creation'' by

Arthur Meek Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Stanley Meek Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (7 October 1883 – 14 August 1955) was a British Indian Army and Indian Political Service officer. Meek was born in Larne, Ireland, the son of a clergyman. He was edu ...

(best director, 2009); West End Girls by Ken Duncum (best director, 2012) *Nominated for Best Director (with Lori Leigh) for ''Hamlet'', Wellington Theatre Awards, 2019. * 2015: Po' Okela Award from the Hawai’i State Theatre Council, for his direction of

Victor Rodger Victor John Rodger (born 1969) is a New Zealand journalist, actor and award-winning playwright
La Mama Theatre, N ...

’s ''My Name is Gary Cooper'' at Kumu Kahua Theater, Honolulu. *2016: Created Life Member, Australasian Association for Theatre, Drama and Performance Studies. *2018: Rob Jordan Book Prize, awarded by the

Australasian Association for Theatre, Drama and Performance Studies The Australasian Association for Theatre, Drama and Performance Studies (ADSA), formerly the Australian Drama Studies Association, is an academic association promoting the study of theatre in New Zealand and Australia. History The Australian ...

, for ''Floating Islanders'' (joint award with Lisa Warrington)''.'' *2023: Mayoral Award for Significant Contribution to Theatre, Wellington Theatre Awards 2023.

References

External links

* ' (8 July 2021), O'Donnell's inaugural professorial lecture {{DEFAULTSORT:ODonnell, David New Zealand theatre directors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Academic staff of Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington alumni Academic staff of the University of Otago University of Otago alumni People from Nelson, New Zealand