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Gary Henderson

GARY HENDERSON

  
Nationality:    New Zealander
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    Playmarket Inc  

Gary Henderson was born in Geraldine in South Canterbury, and gradually spiralled his way north to Auckland where he has lived for eight years. Gary's plays have been professionally produced around New Zealand, in South Africa, Australia, Great Britain, Canada and the United States. His most well-travelled play is Skin Tight which won a coveted Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1998 during a sell-out season at the Traverse Theatre. It was also produced in New York in 2006, UK in 2007 and Canada in 2008. Gary received a Chapman Tripp Theatre Award for the best new short play in 1996 for Mo & Jess Kill Susie, and a Fringe Award for ExcEllence for the Big Blue Planet Earth Show at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in 1992. Home Land, commissioned and produced by Fortune Theatre in Dunedin (2004) and Peninsula, commissioned by the Christchurch Arts Festival and directed by Gary at Court Theatre (2005), were written in Dunedin while Gary was resident in the Robert Lord Writers Cottage, and teaching at Allen Hall, the home of the Otago University Theatre Studies Programme. Other commissions include Lines of Fire for Wow! Productions, a site-specific work presented at the Dunedin Railway Station in the Dunedin Festival of the Arts 2006 and Stealing Games for Capital E National Theatre for Children. Gary has also directed the work of other New Zealand playwrights; in 2000 he directed Ken Duncum's Horseplay for Dunedins Wow! Productions at the Fortune, and in 2003, Carl Nixon's the Book Of Fame based on the novel by Lloyd Jones, at Downstage in Wellington. He has also served many times as a director and mentor in the development of scripts by new writers. From 2006 - 2012 Gary taught playwriting at Unitec's School of Performing and Screen Arts in Auckland.

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below is a list of Gary Henderson's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Alien Kiss         Big Blue Planet Earth Show, The         Homeland         Judas Hill         Lines Of Fire         Little Shanghai Or Teenage Lesbian Switchblade Killers         Mo And Jess Kill Susie         Monsters         Peninsula         Shepherd         Skin Tight         Song Of Bobby Zack         Spine Tingle         Stealing Games         Sunset Cafe         Tiger Play         Unseasonable Fall Of Snow, A         Ziggy's Tribe

Alien Kiss

Synopsis:
Sarah relives her experience of an alien visitation, proving that extraordinary things can happen to seemingly ordinary people.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
one act comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Big Blue Planet Earth Show, The

Synopsis:
Three years from now, four 12 year old students work on a school project about endangered species. Meanwhile a breed of South American monkeys are hunted to extinction and a solo space flight to the moon contains a mystery cargo. A popular script that explores environmental issues without being strident.

Notes:
Gary Henderson With Tina Cook, Shane Bartle, Emma Robinson And Toni Gordon

1st Produced:
-    1984

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Homeland

Synopsis:
an aging farmer adamantly wishes to remain on the family land despite his increasing infirmity. the children and grandchildren return to the family farm to make the difficult decision as to Ken's future.

Notes:
Original Music by Phil Doublet

1st Produced:
Dunedin (Fortune theatre?), NZ    01 Oct 2004

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Judas Hill

Synopsis:
the year is 2045 and in an aerial prison above Auckland twelve young offenders, computer criminals, are offered a deal by the warden: installing software for the prison in exchange for freedom. However, another secret deal involving deceit and double crossing threatens to bring the whole thing crashing to the ground.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
TYA

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  8            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Lines Of Fire

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Dunedin Train Station, NZ    2006

Organisations:
Wow! Productions for Otag Festival of the Arts

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Little Shanghai Or Teenage Lesbian Switchblade Killers

Synopsis:
Or Teenage Lesbian Switchblade Killers. A karaoke black comedy. Courtenay Place in the future, now called Little Shanghai, is a dazzling and dangerous zone where murders are frequent and not many people speak English.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    1998

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical. - - Gay/Lesbian, of interest

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mo And Jess Kill Susie

Synopsis:
Two armed Maori women wait with their bound, gagged and unconscious captive, in an empty building. the hostage is the trump card in a tense face-off between Maori protesters and police. the women are waiting for a phone call with instructions on how to deal with their victim.
- theatre

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Wellington: BATS Theatre, New Zealand, ANZ    1996

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in the PLAYMARKET PLAY SERIES 2007 with Skin Tight and Mo and Jess Kill Susie   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
80 min One act Thriller

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Monsters

Synopsis:
Two girls explore an old abandoned house

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    1993

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical one act

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  6            Other:  extras

Further Reference:
-

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Peninsula

Synopsis:
Playwright Gary Henderson takes a touching, bittersweet look at life in the 1960s in the beautifully crafted Peninsula. Michael Hope is 10 years old and sleeps on a volcano. This is his playground, his paradise. But rumblings in the adult world encroach on Michael's life, then erupt, throwing his world into a chaos that will change him forever.
- www.theatreview.org.nz

Notes:
Peninsula was written in Dunedin while Henderson was resident At the Robert Lord Writers' Cottage. Although the story of Peninsula is fictional, the places And some of the incidental Anecdotes Are real, the playwright says. It is An Acknowledgement, A nod to A time And A place that was A step on the way to here And now.

1st Produced:
-    c 2005

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Shepherd

Synopsis:
Immortality. All it costs is your life. In the remote mists of Fiordland the Shepherd family run their flock, supplying a hungry world. Constantly monitored and harassed by unseen aerial drones, Daniel Shepherd is a farmer with a contract to fulfil, a family to shelter, and a conscience which leads him to risk an unthinkable punishment. Under the looming threat of extinction, the Shepherd family find the line between humanity and inhumanity becoming dangerously blurred. Award winning New Zealand playwright Gary Henderson (Peninsula, Skin Tight and Home Land) brings us this provocative vision of a world just one step sideways from our own.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Court Theatre, Bernard Street, Addington, Christchurch    07 Feb 2015

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/production.php?id=4285

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Skin Tight

Skin Tight
This work from New Zealand, inspired by Denis Glover's poem the Magpies, an ordinary couple with an extraordinary love relive their darkest secrets, deepest passions and heart-breaking truths. Throughout all the moments of doubt that life has thrown at them, as long as they can be together, they wouldnt change a thing. This is their final opportunity to say all the things they never had the chance to say before.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
BATS Theatre, Wellington, New Zealand    10 Mar 1994

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, London (2013)>>>
in the PLAYMARKET PLAY SERIES 2007 with Skin Tight and Mo and Jess Kill Susie   978-1472532015

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Song Of Bobby Zack

Synopsis:
a teenage girl is told she only has a year to live

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    1989

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama, Play with Songs

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Spine Tingle

Synopsis:
Two teenagers are separated from their mother during a tremendous storm and find themselves in an alternate world

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Drama

Parts:
Male:  11            Female:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Stealing Games

Synopsis:
A school culture based play based around games and playground safety, for intermediate aged children

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
one act comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sunset Cafe

Synopsis:
the last day of school and the first night of summer

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1993

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama, Play with Songs

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Tiger Play

Synopsis:
Russ wants more to his life. He goes regularly to the zoo to look at the tigers. then he notices his new flat mate has a tiger tattoo

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1994

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Unseasonable Fall Of Snow, A

Synopsis:
A bewildered young man is questioned by a ruthless interrogator, who circles like a predator, forcing him closer and closer to an awful admission. A compelling investigation of truth, consequences, and the ultimate value of human life.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Downstage Theatre in Wellington    1998

Organisations:
New Zealand International Festival of the Arts

1st Published:
in the PLAYMARKET PLAY SERIES 2007 with Skin Tight and Mo and Jess Kill Susie   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Ziggy's Tribe

Synopsis:
Ziggy leads his gang away from the destruction caused by the bulldozers

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1987

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Drama

Parts:
Male:  10            Female:  10            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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