All about NZ acting/directing couple Michael Hurst & Jennifer Ward-Lealand. I tweet the news they send me. Also @michaelhurstnow.bsky.social
Auckland, New Zealand
Joined September 2009
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SONGS FOR NOBODIES review: "Jackie Clarke provides a sensational performance … Director Jennifer Ward-Lealand has kept the staging simple, with the focus always on Jackie Clarke and her remarkable performance"/NZArtsReview
nzartsreview.org/2026/10/29/…
SONGS FOR NOBODIES review: "Jackie Clarke’s performance is extraordinary … direction of the show by Jennifer Ward-Lealand is skilful … never distracting or deflecting attention away from Clarke … truly scintillating piece of theatre"/13th Floor
13thfloor.co.nz/songs-for-no…
SONGS FOR NOBODIES review: "not to be missed … expertly directed by Jennifer Ward-Lealand … [Jackie Clark] is quite simply sensational and her delivery … had all the star power of their original singers … a show that is simply stunning"/AndrewWhiteside
andrewwhiteside.com/review-s…
Early bird tickets for MISERY are now on sale from @AkldTheatreCo. Starring Michael and Morgana O'Reilly: atc.co.nz/whats-on/2027-seas…
Michael and Morgana talk about the play: youtube.com/watch?v=oH_CLW37…
AFTER GOD review: "The action flows with a light touch, fluidity and gentle humour that inexorably draws us in … Michael Hurst masterfully manifests Mark’s delight in oppositional thinking … extraordinary accomplishment"/@Theatreview
theatreview.org.nz/productio…
AFTER GOD review: "Mark C Taylor [is] played brilliantly throughout by veteran actor Michael Hurst … The acting is superb and it’s the actors who bring this verbatim play to life … a work which stays with you when you leave the theatre"/The Post
thepost.co.nz/culture/361100…
AFTER GOD review: "the dialogue is full of wisdom, worry, humour, and heart … Shit it’s good fun. And fuck it goes deep … I was astounded by the actors … Paterson and Hurst … were amazing in their recall, delivery, and embodiment"/Simon Sweetman
simonsweetman.substack.com/p…
Tomorrow night watch the final episode of season 2 of A WONDERFUL PLACE TO DIE. Michael guest stars as a blind former jeweler. Sunday, 8:30, TVNZ 1.
AFTER GOD opens Saturday. It's about playwright Stuart Mackenzie's search for the meaning of God. Michael plays theologian Mark C Taylor.
Read this @nzlistener article about the play (gift article): nzherald.co.nz/the-listener/…
17 Oct to 14 Nov. Book: circa.co.nz/package/after-go…
News of next year! Michael will star in @AkldTheatreCo's production of MISERY (based on the Steven King novel) with co-star Morgana O'Reilly.
26 Jan-20 Feb.
Season subscriptions now available; individual tickets go on sale 27 October.
Info/subscribe: atc.co.nz/subscribe/2027-sub…
Filmed in NZ and released there in 2022 under the original title of Northspur, BATTLE CABIN has now been released online in the US and Canada by Lionsgate. The struggle to stay alive in a post-pandemic world. Michael plays Greene.
youtube.com/watch?v=UcgrhXgc…
Austalia! Now can watch the film BIRTHRIGHT on Stan.
"wickedly sharp, darkly hilarious gem … entire cast is phenomenal … an absolute must-watch"/Outloud Culture
"Sharp, uncomfortable, and darkly hilarious"/AU Review
play.stan.com.au/programs/73…
AFTER GOD press release: "a theatrical journey across continents and conversations … to explore some very big questions about meaning, madness and metaphysics … moving, provocative, surprising and genuinely funny".
scoop.co.nz/stories/CU2608/S…
Info/book: circa.co.nz/package/after-go…
Michael responds to questions on the 1News Grill. He talks about his life, as well as the importance of supporting NZ arts organizations, and his upcoming role in tv series A REMARKABLE PLACE TO DIE.
@1NewsNZ
tvnz-1-news-prod.cdn.arcpubl…
Today Michael is off to Wellington to begin rehearsals for the play AFTER GOD, joining director Miranda Harcourt and writer Stuart McKenzie "to explore big questions about meaning, madness and metaphysics".
Circa Theatre 17 Oct–14 Nov
Info/tix: circa.co.nz/package/after-go…
Tomorrow Michael opens the ALZHEIMERS ARTS TRAIL in Marlborough at a Gala Evening. He'll talk about his experience playing a man with Alzheimer's in the play IN OTHER WORDS and the conversations it has led provoked.
Info/tix: eventfinda.co.nz/2026/alzhei…
A REMARKABLE PLACE TO DIE is a TVNZ mystery show starring Chelsie Preston Crayford as a detective solving murders. It is filmed entirely in Queenstown.
Michael plays a blind ex-jeweller in episode 2.6 'Eye-Witness'.
Otago Daily Times article: odt.co.nz/otago/queenstown/q…
GOOD BONES is a "dark crime comedy" about buying a house and getting caught up in the mysteries of its shady past. Stars Josh Thompson and Aidee Walker with an ensemble of Michael, Wesley Dowdell, Justine Smith and Janaye Henry.
On TV3 from 17 Sept.
screenscribe.net/good-bones-…
Michael has a big week coming up.
Sunday – Season 2 of A REMARKABLE PLACE TO DIE begins on TVNZ. Michael is the guest star in ep. 6.
Thurs – GOOD BONES premieres on TV3. Michael is in the ensemble cast.
Meanwhile, he'll be in Wellington rehearsing AFTER GOD for Circa Theatre.
