Rebecca Massey

Rebecca Massey is an Australian film, television and theatre actress. She has been nominated and won numerous awards for her performances including the prestigious Helpmann Award for both Steve Martin's The Underpants (Belvoir)[1] and Steven Sewell's It Just Stopped (Belvoir).[2] Her talent caught the eye of Director Rob Carlton who cast her as Lucy Canon in the award-winning TV series Chandon Pictures (ABC), after which she went on to star in another award-winning TV series playing Beverly in Utopia (ABC).

Rebecca Massey
Born
Rebecca Jane Tregurtha Massey

(1969-09-12) 12 September 1969
New Zealand
NationalityAustralian
Alma materUniversity of Auckland
Occupation
  • Actress
Years active1998–present
Children1

Her work in leading roles with major theatre companies nationwide such as The Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir St Theatre, Bell Shakespeare Company, State Theatre Company of South Australia, and Griffin Theatre Company has garnered her reviews from highly esteemed critics revering her as a ‘rare performer’ (Time Out)[3] ‘riveting’ (SMH),[4] ‘impeccable comic timing’ (SMH),[5] ‘Excellent’ (The Australian),[6] ‘sexy, strong and smart’ (Australian Stage),[7] a ‘tour de force’ (Theatre Diary),[8] and ‘exceptional’ (Stage Whispers).[9] More recently, for the play First Love is the Revolution, Rebecca was acclaimed by delivering a 'stunning performance' (SMH).[10]

She has consistently performed alongside many of Australia's great actors and actresses including Cate Blanchett (The Seagull), Geoffrey Rush (Exit the King, The Small Poppies, The Alchemist), Barry Otto (in Steve Martin's WASP and in Molière's Tartuffe).

Early life and education

Rebecca Jane Tregurtha Massey (born in New Zealand on 12 September 1969) is an actress living and working in Australia. She is best known for her comic roles as Beverley in Utopia, and as Lucy Canon in Chandon Pictures: women of some determination but limited skills.

Since moving to Australia, Rebecca has worked consistently with the major theatre companies, including Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir St Theatre, Bell Shakespeare Company, State Theatre Company of South Australia, Malthouse Theatre and Griffin Theatre Company.

Massey was born in Rotorua, New Zealand. She grew up in Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong, before returning to New Zealand to complete her schooling at St Cuthbert's College, Auckland. After graduating Dux of School, Rebecca went on to study Law and English at the University of Auckland, graduating with Honours. She worked briefly as a lawyer.

Theatre career

Rebecca's first professional job was in a production of the Crucible with the Mercury Theatre Company (now Auckland Theatre Company). She went on to star in Daughters of Heaven directed by Colin McColl, opening the Auckland Theatre Company after the Mercury Theatre went bankrupt. She was a founding member of Stronghold Theatre company with Peter Evans, whom she married. After graduating from Auckland University, Rebecca toured New Zealand with an Australian production of Steaming with Liz Burch, Lenore Smith and the late Cornelia Frances.

After moving to Sydney, Australia, Neil Armfield cast her in The Alchemist, alongside Geoffrey Rush and Hugo Weaving. She worked consistently with Armfield at Company B until Armfield's resignation as artistic director of the theatre in 2010. During that time she was awarded a Glug and a Green Room Award for Best Actress, and nominated for two Helpmann Awards for Best Supporting Actress in Steve Martin's The Underpants and It Just Stopped by Steven Sewell. Much of the time in those years was taken up with touring the world with the epic Cloudstreet, Nick Enright and Justin Monjo's adaptation of Tim Winton's celebration of Australia by the novel of the same name.

She has consistently performed alongside many of Australia's great actors and actresses including Cate Blanchett (The Seagull), Geoffrey Rush (Exit the King, The Small Poppies, The Alchemist), Barry Otto (for Steve Martin's WASP and in Molière's Tartuffe), Julie Forsythe, and Jacek Koman. Rebecca opened the new theatre at Belvoir Street together with Catherine McClements and John Woods in It Just Stopped.

Since 2010 she worked with the Malthouse Theatre, the State Theatre of South Australia in John Doyle's play, Vere (Faith), the Griffin Theatre Company in Kill Climate Deniers by David Finisgan. For the Sydney Theatre Company she has appeared in Travesties, Vere (Faith), Perplex, After Dinner by Andrew Bovell (which won a Hlep), Lucy Kirkwood's play Chimerica and Moira Buffini's play ‘Dinner’.

Filmography

Rebecca Massey's film and television credits include the award-winning Chandon Pictures (ABC) which won Best Comedy (AFI, ADG and AWGIES), Best Original Production (ASTRA), Most Outstanding Light Entertainment (LOGIES), and Utopia (ABC): which won Best Television Comedy Series (AACTA),[11] Most Outstanding Comedy Program (LOGIES).[12]

Other television credits include Lowdown (2010), My Place (2009), Stepfather of the Bride (2006), Deep Water (2016). Film credits she is known for are Son of the Mask (2005), The Black Balloon (2008), Accidents Happen (2009), Backyard Ashes (2013), Bad Girl (2016).

Film
Title Years Role Notes
Son of the Mask 2005 Clare
Final Call 2006 Short film
The Black Balloon 2008 Miss Babb
Accidents Happen 2009 Louise
Greg's First Day 2013 Madam 2 Short film
Backyard Ashes 2013 Lilly Waters
Holding the Man (film) 2015 Woman from Red Cross
Bad Girl 2016 Detective Daniels
Last Ark 2018 Captain Shane Hudson Short film

Television
Title Years Role Notes
Kangaroo Creek Gang 2002 Kristie the Koala Voice
Blood Sports 2002 Sarah Television film
All Saints 2002-6 Melissa Wilson; Jodie Abbott; Wendy Saralyn 3 episodes
Grass Roots 2003 Kirsten Bovie Episode: "Youth"
Small Claims 2004 Clare Santarini Television film
Stepfather of the Bride 2006 Fiona Television film
Chandon Pictures 2007-9 Lucy Cannon 16 episodes
City Homicide 2009 Peggy Duval Episode: "Baker's Dozen"
My Place 2009 Mrs Benson 6 episodes
Lowdown 2010-12 Trudy March 4 episodes
Packed to the Rafters 2012 Audrey 2 episodes
Tricky Business 2012 Gaye Hudson Episode: "Mothercraft"
Winter 2015 Sally McKenzie Episode: "Blow Up"
The Principal 2015 Rina 4 episodes
Utopia 2015-17 Beverley Sadler 5 episodes
Deep Water 2016 Sally Williams 2 episodes
Pacific Heat 2016-17 Maddie Riggs 13 episodes; Voice
Upright 2019 Constable Stacey Episode: "Day Three"
The Letdown 2019 Real Estate Agent Julie Episode: "Heavy Heart"
Metro Sexual 2019 Miranda Graft 3 episodes
Total Control 2019 Sharon Episode #1.3

Stage
Production Year Venue Company Role(s) Director(s)
The Crucible Mercury Theatre Mercury Theatre Company Susanna Walcott Miles Taylor
The Possibilities Stronghold Theatre Company Ensemble Peter Evans
Daughters of Heaven Auckland Theatre Company Pauline Parker Colin McColl
Evans Freud’s Dora NZ Arts Council Dora Anatoly Frusin
Media Sluts NZ Puppet Theatre The Starlet Peter Evans
Macbeth Wellington International Festival of the Arts Lady Macbeth Peter Evans
The Man from Scotland New Zealand Fringe Festival Peter Evans
Steaming National Tour Gary Penny Productions Dawn Gary Downes
Othello The Mask Company Desdemona Peter Evans
Bad Poetry NIDA NIDA Company Nurse, Sister Peter Kingston
The Alchemist 1996 Belvoir Street Theatre Company B Belvoir Dame Pliant Neil Armfield
WASP 1996 Belvoir Street Theatre Company B Belvoir Zig Zag Woman, Angie, Sis Neil Armfield
The Seagull 1997 Belvoir Street Theatre Company B Belvoir Masha Neil Armfield
Max & The Trickster Australian Museum Trickster Yaron Lifshitz
Cloudstreet 1998 Sydney Festival, Perth Festival Company B Belvoir, Black Swan Elaine, Mrs. Clay, Meredith Neil Armfield
The Caucasian Chalk Circle 1998 Belvoir Street Theatre Company B Belvoir Natella Abashvili Michael Kantor
Henry IV (Parts I & II) 1999 National Tour Bell Shakespeare Lady Percy, Doll Tearsheet Wart John Bell
Valley of the Big Bones 1999 Australian Museum Bjork Mcgurk Warren Coleman
Ship of Fools 1999 Griffin Theatre Company Sunny, Mayor, Anna Lundsdorf, Madame van Eyck Ros Horin
Cloudstreet 1999 Melbourne, Adelaide, Zurich Festival, London, Dublin Festival Company B Belvoir, Black Swan Elaine, Lucy Wentworth, Meredith Neil Armfield
The Small Poppies 1999 Sydney Festival Company B Belvoir Clint's Mum, Courtney Neil Armfield
Australian National Playwrights’ Conference 1999 Richard Wherrett, Ros Horin
The Small Poppies 1999 Dublin Festival, Melbourne Festival Company B Belvoir Clint's Mum, Courtney Neil Armfield
Borderlines 2001 The Griffin Griffin Theatre Company, Riverina Theatre Company Meredith Danni, Ren, Lisa Richard Buckham, Adam Cook, Jeremy Sims
Cloudstreet 2001 National Theatre, BAM, Kennedy Centre Company B Belvoir Elaine Lamb, Lucy Wentworth, Meredith Neil Armfield
The Rood Screen 2001 Development Workshop Alice Anna Messariti
Macbeth 2003 Belvoir Street Theatre Company B Belvoir Witch Michael Kantor
The Underpants 2003 Belvoir Street Theatre Company B Belvoir Gertrude Neil Armfield
Stuff Happens 2005 Seymour Centre Company B Belvoir Various Neil Armfield
It Just Stopped 2006 Company B Belvoir Pearl Neil Armfield
Dead Caesar 2007 Wharf 2 Theater Sydney Theatre Company Calpurnia Tamara Cook
Exit The King 2007 The Merlin, Belvoir Street Theatre Malthouse Theatre Company, Company B Belvoir Queen Mary Neil Armfield
Tartuffe 2008 The Merlin Malthouse Theatre Company Dorine Michael Kantor
Travesties 2009 Sydney Theatre Company Cecily Richard Cottrell
The Book of Everything 2013 Tour Belvoir Margot Neil Armfield
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 2013 Belvoir Street Theatre Belvoir Mae Simon Stone
Vere 2013 Adelaide Festival Centre, Sydney Opera House State Theatre Company of South Australia, Sydney Theatre Company Kate Sarah Goodes
Perplex 2014 Wharf 1 Sydney Theatre Company Rebecca Sarah Giles
After Dinner 2015 Wharf 1 Sydney Theatre Company Dympie Imara Savage
Chimerica 2017 Roslyn Packer Theatre Sydney Theatre Company Barb, Doreen, Marie Dubiecki, Kate, Judy Kip Williams
Dinner 2017 Sydney Opera House Sydney Theatre Company Wynne Imara Savage
Kill Climate Deniers 2018 The Griffin Griffin Theatre Company Gwen Malkin Lee Lewis
The Misanthrope 2018 Sydney Opera House Bell Shakespeare Philipa (Philinte) Lee Lewis
First Love is the Revolution 2019 The Griffin Griffin Theatre Company Cochineal and Bailey Chicken Lee Lewis
Dance Nation 2020 Adelaide Festival Centre Belvoir and State Theatre Company of South Australia Maeve Imara Savage

Awards and Nominations
Year Association Category Nominated work Result
2004 Helpmann Award Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role – Play The Underpants Nominated
2007 Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role – Play It Just Stopped Nominated
Green Room Awards Best Female Actress Won
Best Supporting Female Actress Nominated
Glug Awards Best Supporting Actress Won
2010 Best Supporting Actress Travesties Nominated
2018 Sydney Theatre Awards Best New Australian Work Kill Climate Deniers Nominated

References
  1. "Past nominees and winners, 2004". Helpmann Award. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  2. "Past nominees and winners, 2007". Helpmann Award. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  3. Tongue, Cassie. "Kill Climate Deniers". TimeOut Sydney. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  4. Morgan, Joyce (2 March 2018). "Kill Climate Deniers: Pop go the eco-warriors in a Bolt from the blue". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  5. Morgan, Joyce (2 March 2018). "Kill Climate Deniers: Pop go the eco-warriors in a Bolt from the blue". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  6. Bramwell, Murray (17 October 2013). "When truth and faith collide, twice". The Australian. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  7. Cotter, Richard. "Chimerica - Sydney Theatre Company". Australian Stage. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  8. Jackson, Kevin. "Dinner". Kevin Jackson's Theatre Diary. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  9. Bovell, Andrew. "After Dinner". Stage Whispers. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  10. Cunningham, Harriet. "Crazy in love like a fox". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  11. "AACTA Awards - Past Awards". AACTA. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  12. Knox, David (3 May 2015). "TV Week Logie Awards 2015: winners". TV Tonight. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
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