Sophie Roberts is a theatre director and actor of

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 ...

. She is the artistic director of

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 Auckland, New Zealand.

Career

Roberts graduated from

Toi Whakaari Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School is New Zealand's national drama school. It was established in 1970 and is located in Wellington, New Zealand, in the Te Whaea: National Dance & Drama Centre. Toi Whakaari offers training in acting, costume constru ...

the national New Zealand drama school in 2007. After graduating until 2014 Roberts worked on many plays as a director or actor. Roberts was in a creative partnership with Willem Wassenaar as founder and co-artistic director Wellington-based theatre company Almost a Bird Theatre Collective. Roberts was appointed artistic director of Auckland's

in 2014 and her career focused on that theatre company. The first play she directed in 2014 at Silo Theatre was ''Sunday Roast'' by Thomas Sainsbury. One of the plays Roberts programmed at Silo Theatre at

Q Theatre The Q Theatre was a British theatre located near Kew Bridge in Brentford, west London, which operated between 1924 and 1958. It was built on the site of the former Kew Bridge Studios. The theatre, seating 490 in 25 rows with a central aisle, wa ...

to centre female experiences on the main stage was the feminist play ''The Writer'' by

Ella Hickson Ella Hickson (born 1985) is a British playwright and theatrical director, living in London. Early life Hickson was brought up in Guildford in Surrey and educated at Guildford High School from 1996 to 2003. Career Hickson's first play, ''E ...

. Roberts directed ''HIR'' by

Taylor Mac Taylor Mac Bowyer (born August 24, 1973) is an American actor, playwright, performance artist, director, producer, and singer-songwriter active mainly in New York City. In 2017, Mac was the recipient of a "Genius Grant" from the John D. and Cath ...

in 2018. Roberts at Silo Theatre commissioned the debut theatre show of Chris Parker, ''No More Dancing in the Good Room''. In 2021 Roberts handed over the reigns of Silo Theatre to

Ahi Karunaharan Ahilan Karunaharan is writer, director, actor and producer of Sri Lankan descent from New Zealand. He is a recipient of the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, New Zealand Arts Laureate Award. Background and Education Ahi Karunaharan was born in ...

for health reasons. Roberts announced for 2023 that Silo Theatre would not stage any shows to focus on development of three plays and in a response to the effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

on the theatre company and the industry in Auckland and New Zealand. Roberts said of the 2024 season at Silo: "We want to bring you experiences that are little celebrations of the moment we’re briefly on this earth, and how we might take care of it, each other, and ourselves while we’re here."

Selected acting credits

* ''Angels in America'' * ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' * ''Antigone'' * ''Blood Wedding'' * ''The Vagina Monologues'' * ''Delicates'' * ''Broken China'' * ''Abigail’s Party'' * ''Wolf’s Lair'' (solo)

Selected directing credits

* ''Hudson & Halls Live!'' (2017) - Co-creator,

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 ...

* ''The Events,'' Silo Theatre * ''Boys Will Be Boys,'' Silo Theatre * ''Perplex,'' Silo Theatre * ''The Book of Everything,'' Silo Theatre * ''Midsummer,'' Silo Theatre * ''The Pride,'' Silo Theatre * ''I Love You Bro,'' Silo Theatre * ''Sunday Roast,'' Silo Theatre

Awards

* Best Performer: Wellington Fringe Festival * Best New Director:

Wellington Theatre Awards The Ngā Whakarākei O Whātaitai / Wellington Theatre Awards are the main theatre awards in New Zealand's capital city, Wellington established in 2015 after the previous awards sponsor ended their support. They are awarded annually. The previ ...

* Best New Actress: Wellington Theatre Awards * Production of the Year: Wellington Theatre Awards * Excellence Award for ''The Book of Everything'': Auckland Theatre Awards * Best New Playwright: Wellington Theatre Awards - (nomination) * Woman Of The Year, Next magazine - (nomination)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Sophie 21st-century New Zealand actresses Living people New Zealand directors Toi Whakaari alumni Year of birth missing (living people)