Biography of My Skin

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"A gift. Fabulous. Shocking. Profound. Ruthlessly honest. Funny. Not to be missed"
John Smyth – Theatreview

“Downstage is on a roll with yet another top-quality and highly entertaining work”
Laurie Atkinson – The Dominion Post

"It’s not often I leave the theatre examining my own life… it is done so well… flawlessly… fantastic, hilarious and poignant"
Mark Westerby RNZ Arts on Sunday

By Stuart McKenzie

a self-portrait without make up

Biography of My Skin takes a life lived on stage and looks for the truth behind the face-paint. In this candid, autobiographical solo show, actor Miranda Harcourt sets out to tell her story as a working mother.

But there’s a catch. The script is written by Miranda’s husband Stuart McKenzie. The more she struggles to talk about her relationships, ambitions and marriage, the more interference she experiences from the writer seeking to husband her narrative.

This funny and often outrageous conflict between husband and wife – in all its skirmishes, subterfuges and dramatics – reveals a surprisingly moving portrait of a marriage, as well as an entertaining social history of the last four decades.

"Biography of My Skin is a show about me… Except there’s a catch — it is written by my husband Stuart McKenzie which leaves me wondering if I’m really telling my own story in my own words, or following some ulterior narrative. In fact, the play uses the tussle between the actor and the writer to get under the skin of marriage and family life. In so doing, it pulls apart the very idea of the solo show. It’s a piece of theatre that anyone who has a family can recognise and enjoy." Miranda Harcourt

Biography of My Skin is the long-awaited follow-up to Flowers from My Mother’s Garden, which toured throughout NZ and was seen  by over 35,000 people.

The Dominion Post season, presented by Downstage.

Directed by 
Tim Spite

Starring
Miranda Harcourt

“Flowers From My Mother’s Garden shares the experiences of a mother, daughter and extended family with an ingenious simplicity that belies the depth of insight. It’s a prime example of how universal the particular can be ...That’s what I call communication!”
John Smythe, National Business Review