Deidre Rubenstein (born 1948) is an Australian

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

theatre actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

, as well as a dramatist and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

well known for her performance in Australian soap operas and main stage dramatic roles. She has won the Australian Film Institute (AFI) Award as Best Actress. Rubenstein graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1967 and has worked extensively in live theatre, television, films and as a narrator of audio books. She has produced a significant body of work as a narrator of audio books and has won several awards in this field.

Television work

Rubenstein has worked in television comedies, drama, mini-series and TV movies. In 1970 she appeared in an episode of '' Homicide''. She played a guest role in '' Prisoner'' (1979–80), as terrorist Janet Dominguez. In 2004 Rubenstein played the scheming Svetlanka Ristic in the soap opera ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

''.

Films

* '' The Girl Who Came Late'' (1991), directed by Kathy Mueller * '' The Inner Sanctuary'' (1996), directed by Chris Clarke * ''

Siam Sunset ''Siam Sunset'' is a 1999 Australian comedy film directed by John Polson and starring Linus Roache and Danielle Cormack. Plot Perry ( Linus Roache) is an English chemist working for a paint company and is depressed after losing his wife in a f ...

'' (1999), directed by John Polson * ''

Josh Jarman ''Josh Jarman'' is a 2004 Australian comedy film directed by Pip Mushin and starring Marcus Graham. Filming took place around Melbourne, Australia. Plot Josh Jarman is a playwright who can't find anyone to produce his dramatic play. The only ...

'' (2004), directed by

Pip Mushin Pip, PIP, Pips, PIPS, and ''similar'', may refer to: Common meanings * Pip, colloquial name for the star(s) worn on military uniform as part of rank badge, as in the British Army officer rank insignia or with many Commonwealth police agencies * T ...

Theatre

Rubenstein's career in the theatre includes work with several major Australian companies, including the Nimrod Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company. In 1993 she had a solo show called ''What's a Girl to Do?'', where she performed poems written by contemporary Australian women poets. It was later performed by Rubenstein at The Stables Theatre in Sydney (1994) and at the 1995

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh F ...

.Rubenstein (1998). p.iv This show inspired her to do another solo show using work commissioned for her, work that was written to be performed live. She was awarded a Victorian Government Women Artist's Grant and commission contemporary writers to produce the performance pieces that were later and produced in a book called ''Confidentially yours''. The first performance was in the Playbox Theatre Centre, C.U.B Malthouse, Melbourne on 11 February 1998. The writers commissioned to produce the work that became ''Confidentially Yours'' were, Janis Balodis, Andrew Bovell, Nick Enright, Michael Gurr,

Daniel Keene Daniel Keene (born 1955) is an Australian playwright whose work has been performed throughout the world. Career Keene's plays have been performed in Australia, France, Poland and the United States. Many of his plays have been published in Fr ...

, Joanna Murray-Smith and Debra Oswald. Andrew Bovell wrote a pair of stories for the show that he later used in the script for the film '' Lantana''. In 2005 Rubenstein performed in ''Menopause the Musical'', a comedy breaking down the taboos about

menopause Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is the time in women's lives when menstrual periods stop permanently, and they are no longer able to bear children. Menopause usually occurs between the age of 47 and 54. Medical professionals often d ...

. With

Caroline Gillmer Caroline Gillmer (born 1955) is an Australian actress, best known for her roles in various television series, such as ''Prisoner'' as Helen Smart and ''Neighbours'' as Cheryl Stark. During her time off sick from ''Neighbours'', Gillmer was ...

, Susan-Ann Walker and Jane Clifton, Rubenstein, as "The Dubbo Housewife", explored the stereotypes and madness of that time in a woman's life. In 2015 she played Gertrude Stein in the musical ''Loving Repeating - a Musical of Gertrude Stein'' in Melbourne.

Awards and nominations

* 1996 – a recipient of the inaugural Women Artists Grants, a Victorian Government initiative to encourage emerging women artists living and working in Victoria. * 1998 –

TDK Australian Audio Book Awards The TDK Australian Audio Book Awards were established by the National Library of Australia in 1988 and sponsored by TDK is a Japanese multinational electronics corporation that manufactures electronic components and recording and data-storag ...

Narrator Award for Unabridged Fiction: ''Dreamtime Alice'' by

Mandy Sayer Mandy Sayer (born 1963) is an Australian novelist and narrative non-fiction writer. She was born in 1963 in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville, the third of three children. She began writing poetry and stories at the age of six. Her parents separ ...

* 2001 – Vision Australia Library Awards, joint winner of the Adult Narrator of the Year Award with James Wright reading of ''The Architect'' by Jillian Watkinson.

Bibliography

External links

*
doollee.com – Playwrights

Nimrod Theatre (Retrieved 8 August 2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubenstein, Deidre 1948 births Living people AACTA Award winners Australian dramatists and playwrights Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Australian stage actresses 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses