Frances Edmond has over thirty years experience in theatre, television and film, as an actress, writer, teacher, theatre critic. She began acting in fringe theatre while completing a BA in English at Auckland University. With groups such as The Living Theatre Troupe she worked on improvised/group created material. Subsequently she attended Toi Whakaari/The New Zealand Drama School, graduating in 1975.

During the 70's and 80's she worked in theatres in New Zealand and Australia playing leads and major roles in plays ranging from Shakespeare through Restoration Comedy, Victorian Melodrama, Chekhov, works by the German playwright Fassbinder and contemporary plays by New Zealand playwrights. Throughout these years she continued to adapt material for the stage and work on improvised/group created material.

Her television acting credits include, The Governor, Close to Home, a year in the television soap opera Radio Waves, Jocko and Both Sides of the Fence. Her film acting credits include, Solo, Goodbye Pork Pie, Trial Run, The Footstep Man and Topless Women Talk about their Lives. She has also worked for Radio Drama, reading plays, stories, novels and poetry as well as doing commercial voice over work. She continues to work as a narrator for the Foundation for the Blind in the Talking Book Studios and in 1993 won their Narrator of the Year award.

Frances is also a theatre critic. She reviews Auckland theatre for the New Zealand Listener.

Her screen writing credits include The Beach - director Dorthe Scheffmann, selected for competition at Cannes in 1996; The Bar - also directed by Dorthe Scheffmann - which she script-edited and partially wrote; Consequences, director Fiona Milburn. She has a number of feature film scripts in development including Kathleen, which is based on the experiences of New Zealand missionary nurse, Kathleen Hall, in China in the 1930’s.

Frances’ first piece for the theatre, Being Here, is based on the writings of her mother, well-known New Zealand poet, Lauris Edmond.  This work has been developed with the assistance of the Auckland Theatre Company and premiered, with two rehearsed readings, at the Christchurch Writers and Readers Festival in September 2006.  Her play, The Dance of Life, was commissioned by Court Theatre in 2005 and won first prize in the PANZ playwriting competition, 2007.

Frances was President of the New Zealand Writers Guild 2004 - 7.

Please contact agency@playmarket.org.nz if you are interested in Being Here or The Dance of Life.