Lorae Parry | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Born | 1955 (age 69–70) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Education | Diploma in Acting, Toi Whakaari, New Zealand Drama School, MA in Scriptwriting, Victoria University of Wellington |
| Known for | playwriting, performance |
| Notable work | Eugenia, 1996 |
| Style | Parry's plays often explore sexuality, gender, and class systems. |
Lorae Ann Parry MNZM (born 1955) is an Australian-born New Zealand playwright and actress. [1]
She was born in 1955 in Sydney, Australia and in 1970 moved to New Zealand. Parry has two qualifications, a Diploma in Acting from Toi Whakaari, the national New Zealand Drama School in 1976, [2] [3] and a Master in Scriptwriting from Victoria University of Wellington.
A noted feminist playwright, Parry's plays often explore sexuality, gender, and class systems. [4] Her first plays, Strip, and Frontwomen, used a combination of realism and humor to promote empowerment of women and more acceptance of lesbianism. [5] The play Frontwomen was a breakthrough in history when it was the first lesbian play performed in New Zealand. [3] However, her most influential play, Eugenia, was published in 1996 and explored the nature of sexuality and gender, as well as challenging social traditions around females. [5] Eugenia is noted for its mixing of the magical and supernatural with the true historical figure Eugene Falleni, an Italian-Australian transgender man convicted of the 1917 murder of his first wife. [6] Parry constantly focuses on empowering women through theatre and through her plays, she focuses on the importance of women's lives. [7] She continues to be active in women's issues through play publishing and theatre. [5]
Parry is a performer including being part of the Crows Feet Dance Collective, a dance company for women with a lowest age limit of 40 years. [8] [9] She is known for her stage impersonation of former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark. [10]
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