Jane Harders

Jane Harders
Born	Queensland, Australia
Education	National Institute of Dramatic Art
Occupation(s)	Actress, narrator, voice coach
Years active	1969-2020
Awards	Helpmann Award

Jane Harders is an Australian actress. She has appeared in film and television, on stage and radio as a narrator and as a voice dialect coach. She played Janet Weiss in the original Australian production of The Rocky Horror Show in 1974.

Early life and education

Harders is originally from Queensland. ^[1] She is a graduate of Sydney's NIDA, with a diploma in Voice Studies and gained early acting experience in student productions. In the late 1960's, she began her career at Sydney's Old Tote Theatre Company, ^[2] and was one of the original members of the Nimrod Theatre Company. She has appeared in numerous musicals and revues. ^[1]

Career

Harders has appeared in several films including Caddie (1976), Flirting (1991) and Mao’s Last Dancer (2009). Her television credits include 1984 cricket miniseries Bodyline (alongside Hugo Weaving and Gary Sweet) The Alien Years (1988), teen series Heartbreak High , drama series Doctor Doctor and Spirited . ^[3]

Harders is also a voiceover artist, having narrated for ABC Radio, television documentaries on SBS, and audio adaptations of classic literature. She has also been a voice and dialect coach for stage and screen. ^[3]

Headers has also worked extensively in theatre, for Sydney Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre, and Melbourne Theatre Company. She has starred in The Importance of Being Earnest , Les Liaisons Dangereuses , Arcadia , The Cherry Orchard , Away , and the original 1974 Australian production of The Rocky Horror Show , in which she played Janet. She received a Helpmann Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Copenhagen . ^[3]

Acting credits

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	Shirley Thompson vs. the Aliens	Shirley Thompson
1976	Caddie	Vikki
1978	The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith	Mrs. Healey
1979	The Journalist	Wendy Morris
1980	The Earthling	Molly Ann Hogan
1991	Flirting	Miss Silvia Anderson
1994	The Roly Poly Man	Jane Lewis
1999	Trust Me		Short film
2007	The Uncertainty Principle	Elisabeth	Short film
2009	Mao's Last Dancer	Senator's wife

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Andersen Monogatari	Voice
1972	Quartet		Anthology series, 1 episode
1973	The Aunty Jack Show	Woman on Television	Season 2, episode 1
	The Three Musketeers	Voice	Animated TV movie
1975	Silent Number	Mrs Lucas	1 episode
	Shannon's Mob	Mira	1 episode
	King's Men	Constable Maple Brown	1 episode
1976	Rush	Jessie Farrar	10 episodes
	Alvin Purple	Guest
1977	Hotel Story		[4]
1978	Young Ramsay	Lillian Payntor	1 episode
	Tickled Pink	Marianne	1 episode
1979	Cop Shop	Norma Blake	2 episodes
	A Place in the World	Polly Paget	Miniseries, 1 episode
	The Mismatch	Marsha Harrington	TV movie [5]
	TV Follies	Linda Zimmerman
1980	Australian Theatre Festival		Episode: "A Toast to Melba"
1982	Jonah		4 episodes
1983	The Weekly's War	Tilly Shelton-Smith	Miniseries, 2 episodes [6]
1984	Mother & Son	Matron	1 episode [3]
	Bodyline	Mrs Jardine	Miniseries, 2 episodes
1984–1993	A Country Practice	Bronwyn Gibson / Sarah Fitzgerald	4 episodes [3]
1986	The Adventures of Tom Sawyer	Becky Thatcher / Aunt Polly (voices)	Animated TV movie
1987	Rob Roy	Voice	Animated TV movie
1988	The Alien Years	Edith	Miniseries [7] [3]
1989	The Flying Doctors	Helen	1 episode [3]
1994	Heartbreak High	Maureen Milano	3 episodes [3]
1997	The Hostages	Marcia	TV movie
1997; 1999	Murder Call	Dr Lois Fisk / Mrs Henderson	2 episodes [3]
2007	The Starter Wife	Wealthy Matron	Miniseries, 1 episode [3]
2008	All Saints	Connie Mosdell	1 episode [3]
2010–2011	Spirited	Rita	Seasons 1–2, 17 episodes [3]
2011	The Jesters	Aunty Jane	1 episode [3]
2018–2019	Doctor Doctor	Helen	5 episodes [3]
2020	The End	Jillian Regan	1 episode

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1969	The Royal Hunt of the Sun	Dello, a wife of Atahuallpa		[8]
1970	The Legend of King O'Malley		Old Tote Theatre, Sydney
	Oedipus			[9]
	A Delicate Balance	Edna	STC	[3]
	Biggles		Nimrod St Theatre, Sydney	[10]
1971	Endgame
	Flash Jim Vaux
1972	Measure for Measure
	Shadows of Blood
1973	‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore		Old Tote Theatre, Sydney	[11]
1974	The Rocky Horror Show	Janet Weiss	Harry M. Miller	[12] [3]
1977	Inner Voices	Anna / Princess / Ali / Baby Face	Nimrod St Theatre, Sydney	[13]
1981	The Man from Mukinupin	Clarrie	Sydney Opera House with STC	[2] [14]
1982	You Can't Take it With You			[2]
1983	The Cherry Orchard	Madame Ranevskaya		[3] [15]
1985	Arms and the Man	Raina	Seymour Centre, Sydney with Nimrod	[16] [2]
	Six Characters in Search of an Author	First Actress		[2]
1986	Benefactors	Sheila	Northside Theatre, Sydney	[2] [17]
1987	What the Butler Saw	Mrs Prentice	Australian national tour	[1]
1988	Away	Coral	US tour with STC	[3] [2]
	Summer of the Seventeenth Doll	Olive		[3]
1990	Rumors	Cookie Cusack	Australian national tour	[2]
1991	Master Builder	Aline Solness	Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney	[3] [18]
1993–1994	Kafka Dances	Julie / Mother	Stables Theatre, Sydney with Griffin Theatre Company / STC	[3]
1994	Things We Do for Love	Barbara	Marian St Theatre, Sydney	[3]
	Arcadia	Lady Croom	STC	[3]
1996	Heretic	Monica Freeman	STC / MTC	[3] [19]
2002	Copenhagen	Margrette Bohr	Australian national tour with STC / QTC / MTC	[20]
2005	The Woman with Dog's Eyes	Penny Boyce	Griffin Theatre Company	[21]
2008	The Importance of Being Earnest	Lady Bracknell	QPAC with QTC	[22]
2012	Les Liaisons Dangereuses	Madame de Rosemonde	Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC	[3] [23]
	The Cripple of Inishmaan	Mammy	STC	[3]
	A Flea in Her Ear	Raymonde	STCSA	[3]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2000	Australian Council for the Arts	Fellowship		Won [3]
2003	Helpmann Awards	Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play	Copenhagen	Won [3]

References

1. "What the Butler Saw". Theatregold. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
2. "Rumors". Theatregold. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
3. "Jane Harders". Liberty Artist Management. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
4. Salter, June. June Salter: A Pinch of Salt. Angus & Robertson: Pymble NSW, 1995. ISBN   0-207-18188-8 p 133-4.
5. "Channel 3". The Canberra Times . Vol. 54, no. 16, 095. 19 October 1979. p. 26. Retrieved 17 September 2024– via National Library of Australia.
6. O'Brien, Denis (27 September 1983). "Just how The Weekly went to war". The Australian Women's Weekly . 103 (5384): 40.
7. "The Alien Years". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. University of Queensland . Retrieved 17 September 2024.
8. "The Royal Hunt of the Sun". AusStage . Retrieved 17 September 2024.
9. Bentley, Paul (4 October 2019). "When Sir Tyrone Guthrie launched the Sir John Clancy Auditorium, Part 1". www.unsw.edu.au.
10. "Biggles". AusStage . Retrieved 17 September 2024.
11. Hoad, Brian (24 March 1973). "Bloodless Bloodletting". The Bulletin Vol. 095 No. 4846 via Trove .
12. "The Rocky Horror Show". AusStage . Retrieved 17 September 2024.
13. "Inner Voices". AusStage . Retrieved 17 September 2024.
14. "The Man from Mukinupin". Home Education: Journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation Vol. 62 No. 04 via Trove . 2 March 1981.
15. "'Cherry Orchard' withered". The Canberra Times, page 8 via Trove . 21 August 1983.
16. "Arms and the Man". AusStage . Retrieved 17 September 2024.
17. "Benefactors". Home Education: Journal of the N.S.W. Public School Teachers Federation Vol. 67 No. 04 via Trove . 10 March 1986.
18. "Belvoir Street Theatre: poster – Master Builder – by Henrik Ibsen". www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
19. "Heretic". Theatregold. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
20. "Copenhagen". AusStage . Retrieved 17 September 2024.
21. Boland, Michaela (2004). "The Woman With Dog's Eyes". Variety . Archived from the original on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
22. "The Importance of Being Earnest". Theatregold. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
23. Sierra, Gabrielle (13 February 2012). "The Importance of Being Earnest". www.broadwayworld.com.

External links

• Jane Harders at IMDb  
• Jane Harders at AusStage