C A S T

JOAN

Edith Poor is a New Zealand actor based in Auckland. Edith moved to London in her late teens and trained as an actor in the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Since then she has spent most of her time acting in theatre in London and Edinburgh. Her latest Edinburgh performance earned her a nomination for Best Actor of The Fringe. Edith’s film and TV credits include playing Bonnie in Underbelly: Land of Long Green Cloud, Sophie in SuperCity (dir. Taika Waititi) and Una Geddes in Bliss.

CARPENTER

Matt Whelan is a New Zealand actor best known to international audiences for playing Hugh Hefner in Amazon's American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story; and young DEA agent, Daniel Van Ness in the third season of the Netflix series NARCOS. His work as Brad Caulfield on the Kiwi show Go Girls earned him the Qantas Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor. Matt's film credits include The Most Fun You Can Have Dying and My Wedding and Other Secrets (both films earned him nominations for Best Actor at the New Zealand Film Awards), Gary of the Pacific and the 2017 remake of kiwi classic Pork Pie.

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SISTER

We pay tribute to New Zealand actress, director and playwright Nancy Brunning: 1971 - 2019. Thank you, Whaea Nancy for all that you have given Aotearoa. We celebrate your talent, generosity and legacy. Aroha nui.

Nancy Brunning joined the nursing staff on Shortland Street's first episode, directly from drama school. After extensive work in Māori theatre, she stole the screen in 1999's Once Were Warriors sequel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?, winning an NZ Film Award as gang girl Tania. Further gongs followed for Treaty of Waitangi piece Nga Tohu: Signatures. In 2008 Brunning directed WWII-era short Journey to Ihipa.

MOTHER

Elizabeth Hawthorne, ONZM, has won awards for her acting on stage and screen. Her extensive screen resume is high on fantasy and horror, including The Frighteners, Jack Be Nimble, and Hercules. In 2000 she won the NZ Film Supporting Actress award for her portrait of a Westie matriarch in movie Savage Honeymoon, followed by another award for her brassy PR woman on satirical series Spin Doctors. In Outrageous Fortune she played Ngaire Munroe, no nonsense partner to veteran criminal Ted West. More recently she has appeared in both seasons of local drama series Filthy Rich, and American lost at sea movie Adrift.