Bruce Brown

Bruce is a graduate from Unitec’s Performing Arts bachelor programme. He has been working on theatre for the past seven years, including being involved as both a writer and director for the Short+Sweet Festival in Auckland for five years. He received the Best Independent Theatre Company Award for his Short+Sweet 2013 play Staged Madness.

Bruce has also been keen supporter of community theatre, having been involved with Ellerslie Theatrical Society for seven years. During this time, he has written and directed two one-act plays, as well as staging Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale
(2012) and April Phillips’s Motel (2014).

When not busy with his own directing or writing, he is also the producer behind Legacy Project, which has just completed its third year. Legacy Project is a queer theatre development programme created by Bruce to provide opportunities for the LGBTI community to share their unique Kiwi stories on stage.

DIRECTOR’S NOTE
Tackling such an ironic story, when most audiences either remember the film or have an awareness of Mrs Robinson, meant our biggest challenge was always going to be audience expectations and comparisons. Our hope with this interpretation is to uncover these characters, to make their conflicts relevant today and not just a rose-tinted trip back to the ’60s (sorry, no Simon and Garfunkel). By framing the play with a modern soundtrack, we capture the energy of the story and hopefully add some fresh surprises and delight to this infamous tale of seduction and dysfunctional families.