Dame Miranda Harcourt, of Wellington, DNZM for services to the screen industry and theatre
Dame Miranda Harcourt has made award-winning contributions to the theatre and screen industries as an actor, acting coach, producer, director and writer. Dame Miranda has applied her skills as a drama-therapist within the New Zealand prison system. A pioneer of verbatim theatre in New Zealand in the 1990s, alongside her husband Stuart McKenzie, she toured the acclaimed show ‘Verbatim’ (1993) nationally and internationally to theatres, schools and prisons. She has collaborated on numerous projects with her husband, including adapting their play ‘Portraits’ (1996) into the feature film ‘For Good’ (2003) and creating 10-part documentary series ‘Tough Act’ (2005). She wrote and co-directed the 2017 feature film ‘The Changeover’, based on Margaret Mahy’s coming-of-age novel. Most recently, their verbatim play ‘Transmission’ (2021) dramatised aspects of New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was Head of Acting at Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School from 1998 to 2005 and now works globally with leading directors and actors. Her clients have been nominated for and won BAFTAs, AAFTAs, Golden Globes, Emmys and Academy Awards. She is founding tutor at Rātā Studios in Wellington and continues to champion New Zealand talent on the world stage. Dame Miranda has been an advocate for social change organisations including Women’s Refuge and So They Can.