Briar Grace-Smith

Briar Grace-Smith
Name	Briar Grace-Smith
Birth date	1965
Birth place	Auckland, New Zealand
Occupation	Playwright, screenwriter, actor, director
Nationality	New Zealander
Notable works	"Nga Pou Wahine", "The Jungle", "Purapurawhetu"

Briar Grace-Smith is a New Zealand playwright, screenwriter, actor and director known for work rooted in Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Hineki and Ngāti Kahu whakapapa and contemporary Aotearoa storytelling. Her writing spans theatre, film, television and radio, collaborating with institutions such as Circa Theatre, Auckland Theatre Company, Toi Whakaari, Silo Theatre and screen bodies like NZ On Air and New Zealand Film Commission. Grace-Smith’s work engages with tangata whenua experiences alongside intersections with Pacific, Pākehā and urban communities across national and international stages.

Early life and education

Born in Auckland in 1965, she grew up with connections to iwi including Ngāti Wai and Ngāti Hine, attending kōhanga reo and marae-based initiatives that informed her language and cultural practice. She trained in performing arts at institutions such as Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School and gained early stage experience with companies like The Court Theatre, Silo Theatre and Red Mole. Influences during formative years included encounters with playwrights and artists from New Zealand and the wider Pacific such as Hone Kouka, Witi Ihimaera, Renae Maihi, Albert Wendt and international figures like August Wilson, Lorraine Hansberry and Eugene O'Neill through dramaturgical exchange and festival programming at events like the Auckland Arts Festival and Pasifika Festival.

Career

Grace-Smith emerged in the 1990s as part of a generation reshaping New Zealand theatre alongside peers from Māori theatre collectives and mainstream companies. She has written for stage productions at venues including Bats Theatre, Circa Theatre, Auckland Theatre Company and worked with directors from Silo Theatre, Red Leap Theatre and Te Pou Theatre. In screen, she has written for television series and films developed with NZ On Air, New Zealand Film Commission and international co-producers, collaborating with filmmakers connected to festivals such as Sundance Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival. Her practice intertwines writing, directing and acting; she has performed with ensembles linked to Black Grace, The Court Theatre and independent film projects showcased at New Zealand International Film Festival.

Major works

Major stage works include "Nga Pou Wahine", "Purapurawhetu" and "The Haka Party Incident", produced by companies like Taki Rua Theatre, Circa Theatre and Auckland Theatre Company. Her screen writing credits encompass feature films and television drama developed with New Zealand Film Commission and broadcast on networks such as TVNZ and Three. She contributed to films screened at Sundance, Berlin and Toronto, and to television anthologies that engaged with platforms like Māori Television and international distributors. Her radio and short-form work has aired via Radio New Zealand and been performed at festivals including Wellington Fringe Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Themes and style

Her work foregrounds whakapapa, mātauranga Māori and urban Māori experiences while addressing colonisation, identity, intergenerational trauma and resilience, often intersecting with Pacific diasporic narratives exemplified by collaborations with Pacific artists and companies. Stylistically she blends myth, realism, lyrical dialogue and non-linear structure, drawing on forms seen in works by Bret McKenzie-era contemporaries and the poetic realism of writers such as Witi Ihimaera and Patricia Grace. Her dramaturgy frequently incorporates waiata, haka, karakia and marae protocol, engaging practitioners from institutions like Te Papa Tongarewa, Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision and tertiary programmes including Toi Whakaari and University of Auckland creative writing departments.

Awards and honours

Grace-Smith has received recognition from national and international bodies including awards and fellowships from Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa, the New Zealand Book Awards (for dramatic writing and screen adaptation), and screen awards administered by the New Zealand Film Commission. Her plays have been shortlisted and honoured in festivals and prize lists alongside recipients from Māori writers collective networks and international playwright prizes presented at events like Wellington International Festival of the Arts and Sony Radio Academy Awards-style competitions. She has been a recipient of mentorships and residencies with institutions such as The Royal Society Te Apārangi-affiliated programmes and university writer-in-residence posts at centres like University of Otago and Victoria University of Wellington.

Conservancy, advocacy, and mentorship

Active in cultural conservation and arts advocacy, she has worked with organisations including Toi Whakaari, Taki Rua Theatre, Creative New Zealand and community marae to support language revitalisation, performing-arts training and iwi-led initiatives. Her mentorship roles tie into national schemes run by Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa, university creative programmes at Massey University and youth arts initiatives at festivals like the Auckland Arts Festival and Pasifika Festival. She has advocated for indigenous screen and theatre funding through engagement with bodies such as NZ On Air, New Zealand Film Commission and cross-sector forums convened by Ministry for Culture and Heritage (New Zealand), contributing to policy discussions and capacity-building workshops for emerging Māori and Pacific writers, directors and actors.

Category:New Zealand dramatists and playwrights Category:New Zealand screenwriters Category:Māori writers