Philippa Hall (born 1971) is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

stage, screen and radio script writer and actor.

Biography

Background

Pip Hall is the daughter of writer Roger Hall and grew up mostly in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, New Zealand. She graduated in theatre studies and drama at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

and spent time whilst there experimenting with theatre at the Allen Hall Theatre, a working theatre space at the university. Her fellow students and contemporaries included Te Radar,

Duncan Sarkies Duncan Sarkies is a New Zealand screenwriter, playwright, stand-up comic, and novelist. He is best known for having co-written the script of ''Scarfies'' with his brother Robert Sarkies, who directed the film. Early life and education Duncan S ...

and Jesse Griffin.

Career

In the early 1990s Hall started writing for television on Gibson Group sketch shows. She went on to write plays including two plays for Young & Hungry Arts Trust at BATS Theatre in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and has been a full time writer since 1995. In 2000 Hall was the co-ordinator of Young and Hungry. Her one-act play ''Shudder'' (2003) is a popular choice to be produced in high schools in New Zealand, she has written over a dozen plays that have been produced and many were commissioned. In 2018 Auckland Theatre Company presented her stage adaptation of New Zealand’s children's novel, ''Under the Mountain'' by Maurice Gee. Hall has written comedy, drama and documentary for television. ''Runaway Millionaires'' is the true story of a New Zealand couple Leo Gao and Kara Hurring who in 2009 received $10 million from the bank by mistake, took the money and disappeared. She says when telling a true story:

"One thing that is really interesting for me as I writer is that I try really hard not to judge any kind of behaviour. It's just my job to try and work out why they make the choices they do."

Hall is co-founder of a contemporary water ballet company, Wet Hot Beauties. She was the president of the

New Zealand Writers Guild The New Zealand Writers Guild (NZWG) is a New Zealand trade union which represents writers in the fields of film, television, radio, theatre, video and multi-media. The guild's name in Māori language is Puni Taatuhi o Aotearoa. It provides ser ...

for four years, and sat on the boards of WIFT (Women in Film and Television) and Playmarket, New Zealand's playwriters agency.

Plays

*''Queen B'', commissioned by The Young and Hungry Arts Trust and first produced at BATS Theatre in July 1997, directed by Paula Crutchlow. Published by

Playmarket Playmarket is a not-for-profit organisation providing script advisory services, representation for playwrights in New Zealand and access to New Zealand plays. Playmarket was founded in 1973 to encourage the professional production of New Zealand ...

. *''No Man's Land'', commissioned by Allen Hall Lunchtime Theatre at

, 1999 *''Shudder,'' commissioned by The Young and Hungry Arts Trust and first produced at BATS Theatre in July 2000, directed by David O'Donnell. Published by The Play Press. *''Red Fish, Blue Fish'', first produced at

Silo Theatre Silo Theatre is a theatre production company based in Auckland, New Zealand established in 1997. In 2024 Silo Theatre's director was Sophie Roberts. Silo Theatre has produced plays featuring many well-known New Zealand creative people includin ...

in 2000, directed by Rebecca Hobbs *''The Woman Who Loved a Mountain'', workshop reading at the Taranaki Festival of the Arts *''Who Needs Sleep Anyway?'', co-written with Roger Hall, commissioned by

Plunket Society The Royal New Zealand Plunket Trust provides a range of free services aimed at improving the development, health and wellbeing of children under the age of five within New Zealand, where it is commonly known simply as Plunket. Its mission is ...

, first produced at

Fortune Theatre The Fortune Theatre is a 432-seat West End theatre in Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster. From 1989 until 2023 the theatre hosted the long running play '' The Woman in Black''. History The site was acquired by aut ...

in May 2007, directed by Conrad Newport *''Up North'', first produced by

Centrepoint Theatre Centrepoint Theatre is a theatre and theatre company in Palmerston North in New Zealand. Established in 1973, the theatre has employed more than 2500 actors and produced more New Zealand plays than any other theatre. History The theatre open ...

in 2010 *''The 53rd Victim'', about Rachel Brooke-Taylor, a New Zealand medical editor, who eventually became the 53rd victim of the

2005 London bombings The 7 July 2005 London bombings, also referred to as 7/7, were a series of four co-ordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamist terrorists that targeted commuters travelling on London's public transport during the morning rush hour. ...

*''Ache'', produced at

Court Theatre A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts general ...

in 2014, directed by Daniel Pengelly

Film and television

*''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand Prime time, prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital. The show was first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992 and is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, be ...

,'' 1998 – 2017, Writer – Television *''Skitz,'' 1994 – 1997, Writer, as: Various roles – television *''Telly Laughs,'' 1996 – 1998, Writer, as: various roles – television *''Breakfast,'' 1997 – ongoing, subject – television *''The Day Morris Left,'' 1999, As: Jo – short film *''WNTV,'' 2000 – 2003, Writer, creative producer – television *''Freaky,'' 2003, Writer – Television *''The Killian Curse,'' 2006, Writer – television *''Bryan and Bobby,'' 2008, Writer – television *''The Cult,'' 2009, As: Janice – television *''What Really Happened – Votes for Women,'' 2012, As: documentary maker – television *''The Dance Exponents – Why Does Love?,'' 2017, Writer – television *''

The Brokenwood Mysteries ''The Brokenwood Mysteries'' is a New Zealand television detective drama series that premiered on Prime (now Sky Open) in 2014. Each of the first six series comprises four episodes. From Series 7, seasons were extended to six episodes. The progr ...

,'' 2017 – 2018, Writer – television *''Funny As: The Story of New Zealand Comedy,'' 2019, Subject – television *''Runaway Millionaires,'' 2019, Writer – television *''One Lane Bridge,'' 2019, Creator, writer – television *''Jonah,'' 2019, Writer – television

Awards

Bruce Mason Playwriting Award The Bruce Mason Playwriting Award is an annual award that recognises the work of an outstanding emerging New Zealand playwright. The winner is decided by the votes of a panel of leading New Zealand artistic directors and script advisors. The ...

Winner 2009 * Adam New Zealand Play Award - New Zealand New Play Award for ''The 53rd Victim'', 2009 *

awards 2010. Runner up. ''The 53rd Victim'' * 2018 Huawei Mate20

New Zealand Television Awards New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

– Best Script – Drama (shared with Philip Smith): for ''The Dance Exponents – Why Does Love?'' * 2018 Huawei Mate20 New Zealand Television Awards – Best Feature Drama: 'The Dance Exponents – Why Does Love?'

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Pip 1971 births Living people New Zealand women dramatists and playwrights New Zealand television producers New Zealand women television producers Mass media people from Dunedin 20th-century New Zealand dramatists and playwrights 20th-century New Zealand women writers 21st-century New Zealand dramatists and playwrights 21st-century New Zealand women writers People educated at Logan Park High School