Vanessa Byrnes

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Dr Vanessa Byrnes is an award-winning director, actor, producer and performance teacher who’s worked extensively in film and theatre in New Zealand and overseas. She has led and collaborated on more than 150 theatre and screen productions during the past 25 years in everything from independent, self-funded works to major international productions. This includes numerous feature films, short films, television commercials/drama, radio, and theatre. She is a passionate advocate of the power of creativity, the significance of the role of the artist in society, and the quality and innovation of New Zealand work. She is currently Head of Creative Industries at Unitec (Auckland).

In 2000 Vanessa was the first Australasian to assistant-direct at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, staging The Two Noble Kinsmen for the Globe’s main stage with director Tim Carroll and the Red Company at The Globe. In 2015 she directed a heavily-cut and highly contemporary version of Antony and Cleopatra for Unitec’s third year actors, which was recently reworked for 9 shows at Auckland’s Pop-up Globe theatre season (28 March- 9 April 2016).

Vanessa was Senior Acting tutor and Manager of the Acting Department at Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School; in over 11 years there she also taught acting and directed productions at Toi Whakaari and Victoria University. In tertiary environments and professionally, she has directed many classic, contemporary, devised and text-based theatre productions.

Vanessa trained at Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School (Acting, 1994) and Waikato University (MA, 1992: PhD, 2015). Her doctorate focussed on directing, looking at the praxis of selected New Zealand text-based theatre directors. She is currently writing further in this area. She has held senior leadership roles for various arts education bodies, and freelances under her own production company. Vanessa is a past Board Member of Downstage Theatre, Playmarket, the Shakespeare Globe Centre (NZ) and TAPAC: The Auckland Performing Arts Centre. As a director she brings compassion, rigour and craft to the table.

Vanessa Byrnes's reviews

MUMBAI MONOLOGUES

Auckland

12/02/2014 - 15/02/2014

"Glimpses of ‘real’ lives sensitively directed in evocative, beautiful show..
ZEN DOG

Auckland

25/11/2013 - 30/11/2013

"Mick’s Epic Odyssey a generous offering..
CHICAGO

Auckland

02/11/2013 - 21/12/2013

"Give ’em the old tit-ill-ation..

"An intoxicating, heady cocktail..

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MIDSUMMER

Auckland

24/10/2013 - 23/11/2013

"Truly, Madly, Summerly..
BADJELLY THE WITCH

Auckland, Nelson

12/07/2013 - 21/07/2013

"Enchanting delight..

"BADJELLY THE WITCH..
SHORT+SWEET 2013 – THEATRE – Week 1

Auckland

18/06/2013 - 22/06/2013

"Sweet As…..

"Eclectic mix of Treats to savour..
JIMEOIN in WHAT?!

Auckland, Wellington

14/05/2013 - 19/05/2013

"Non-threatening, appealing but doesn’t quite spark..

"Passes the smell test..

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GREG ELLIS in VANCE FONTAINE FOR LOVERS

Auckland, Wellington

07/05/2013 - 18/05/2013

"The beauty of improv …..

"Legend..

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ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS

Global, Auckland

14/03/2013 - 09/04/2020

"Cleverly written, impeccably paced and performed, seamlessly captured on camera..

"Centrepiece mixes wit with superb comic acting..

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The Santa Claus Show (2012)

Auckland

03/12/2012 - 22/12/2012

"Santa’s timely antidote to commercial hype..
BREL: THE WORDS AND MUSIC OF JACQUES BREL

Auckland, Nelson, Tauranga, New Plymouth, Wellington

02/11/2012 - 02/03/2014

"Finishes strongly..

"All singers portray standout moments..

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MARY POPPINS

Auckland

18/10/2012 - 30/12/2012

"A healthy spoon-full of Poppins could improve our politicians..

"New Mary Poppins is up there with the best..

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JERSEY BOYS – The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons

Auckland

14/04/2012 - 24/05/2012

"From gangsters to superstars..

"The good kind of Jersey..

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HANUSSEN – THE PALACE OF BURLESQUE

Auckland, Nelson

10/02/2012 - 14/04/2012

"A great value show..

"An unforgettable night of theatre..
THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS

Auckland

31/03/2012 - 21/04/2012

"Inventive, light and beautifully performed..
IN THE NEXT ROOM (OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY)

Auckland

17/03/2012 - 07/04/2012

"A Play In Need of Its Own Treatment..

"Good vibrations raise laughs..

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PROVIDENCE

Auckland

24/02/2012 - 25/02/2012

"Waiting for more..
INVISIBLE ATOM

Auckland

21/02/2012 - 25/02/2012

"Invisible Man..

"Surprisingly intimate portrait of a man in crisis..
The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer

Tauranga, Auckland, Nelson, Hawea

25/02/2011 - 30/03/2023

"Sweet, uplifting story and endearing simplicity of its message heart-warming for all ages..

"Captivates with delicacy, finesse, humour and magic..

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The Sad Lament of Pecos Bill, on the Eve of Killing his Wife

Auckland, Tauranga

13/10/2010 - 28/10/2011

"Beautifully realised musical evocation of grief..

"Bold, colourful, inspiring..
On The Upside-Down of the World

Auckland, Edinburgh, Scotland, Hamilton, Tauranga, NYC, USA, Nelson, Wanaka, Christchurch, Wellington

01/07/2011 - 25/08/2014

"Interrogating multiple selves..

"Sweet, heartfelt and tenderly funny star performance..

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Chopper’s HARDEN THE F#CK UP, NEW ZEALAND!

Auckland, Wellington, Tauranga

12/05/2009 - 27/10/2010

"His eye for detail and lateral thinking makes him very funny..

"“It scares me that I agree with practically everything he says”..