Like many other playwrights in New Zealand, Allen got his first taste for writing on Bill Manhire´s Creative Writing course back in the 80s, before graduating as an actor from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 1991. Allen then spent a number of years acting in Wellington, appearing regularly in the capital’s theatres and on screen.
He started writing scripts soon after leaving Toi Whakaari and his first solo effort, Weightless was produced by Radio New Zealand in 1995 and his first stage play The Vampyre Dances premiered at Circa Theatre, Wellington in 1996.
In the same year he moved to Australia and began a Graduate Diploma in Writing at Swinburne University in Melbourne. Here he discovered the Internet and since then has created a number of award-winning hypertext fiction pieces and interactives.
Since then he has had three more plays produced – Deviations at La Mama in Melbourne, Fond Love and Kisses at Downstage, Wellington and My Inner Orc at the Pleasance theatre in London. His radio play Ride on Time has had multiple broadcasts in NZ and Canada.
Allen is currently living in London and works for a large cancer charity as a digital and content strategist, developing content that is viewed by millions of people a year.