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Renée

ルネー

Runē

Aliases: Renée Taylor / Renée Gertrude Taylor

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1929-07-19 （Napier, New Zealand）
Died
2023-12-11 （Wellington, New Zealand） age 94
Nationality
New Zealand
Languages
English
Religion
Unknown
Residence History
Napier, New Zealand → Hawke's Bay area, New Zealand → Ōtaki, New Zealand → Wellington, New Zealand

Career

Occupations
Playwright, Novelist, Short story writer
Active Years
1959-2023
Affiliations
Napier Repertory Theatre, Playmarket, Downstage Theatre
Influenced By
Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Jacquie Sturm, Rowley Habib
Influenced
Lorae Parry
Nominations
Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel nomination (The Wild Card, 2019), Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel nomination (Blood Matters, 2022)

Education

University of Auckland
English and History
Degree: BA
Period: 1969-1979
Year of Graduation: 1979
Country: New Zealand
Began extramural studies at Massey University, completed at University of Auckland

Awards

Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in Fiction
2018
Category: Fiction
Organization: New Zealand Government
Result: Winner
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM)
2006
Organization: New Zealand Government
Result: Recipient
Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council Literary Fund Playwrights Award
1986
Organization: Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council
Result: Winner
Playmarket Award
2017
Organization: Playmarket
Result: Winner
Ngā Tohu ā Tā Kingi Ihaka
2013
Organization: Creative New Zealand Te Waka Toi
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Wednesday to Come

1984 Play

Depicts the impact of the 1930s Great Depression on a family, focusing on women dealing with a male family member's suicide.

working-class womenfamilyGreat Depression

Pass It On

1986 Play

Sequel to Wednesday to Come, celebrating working-class women's role in the 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute.

waterfront disputewomen's solidarityfamily

Jeannie Once

1991 Play

Prequel to Wednesday to Come, about Granna's life as a seamstress in 1890s Dunedin.

New Zealand historywomen's rolesMāori

Bibliography

  • Setting the Table
  • Secrets
  • Breaking Out
  • What Did You Do in the War, Mummy?
  • Dancing
  • The MCP Show
  • Asking for It
  • Wednesday to Come
  • Groundwork
  • Pass It On
  • Born to Clean
  • Touch of the Sun
  • Missionary Position
  • Jeannie Once
  • Te Pouaka Karaehe (The Glass Box)
  • Tiggy Tiggy Touch Wood
  • Pink Sports and Mountain Tops
  • Form
  • Heroines, Hussies and High, High Flyers
  • Dreaming in Ponsonby
  • Shall We Gather at the River
  • Finding Ruth
  • Willy Nilly
  • Daisy and Lily
  • Does This Make Sense to You?
  • The Snowball Waltz
  • I Have to Go Home
  • The Skeleton Woman: A Romance
  • Kissing Shadows
  • The Wild Card
  • Blood Matters
  • Let's Write Plays
  • These Two Hands

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Strong, intelligent, funny female charactersWorking-class idealsHumour with political themes
Recurring Motifs
Intergenerational family dramaFemale empowermentNew Zealand social history

Legacy

Pioneering New Zealand feminist playwright who began writing in her 50s, featuring strong working-class women, active into her 90s. Received numerous awards and opened theatre doors for women.

Quotes

  • lesbian feminist with socialist working-class ideals.
    Source: Self-description
  • Reading was my salvation.
    Source: E-Tangata interview (2021)

Trivia

  • Māori (Ngāti Kahungunu), Irish, English, Scottish ancestry
  • Left school at 12 to work in woollen mills and printing factory
  • Has three sons
  • Delivered Read NZ Pānui lecture at age 92