Deidre Rubenstein
Encyclopedia
Deidre Rubenstein is an Australian television and theatre actress, well known for her performance in Australian soap operas and main stage dramatic roles. She has won the Australian Film Institute (AFI)Award as Best Actress.
Rubenstein graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art
in 1967 and has worked extensively in live theatre, television, films and as a narrator of audio books. She has produced a significant body of work as a narrator of audio books and has won several awards in this field.
(1979–80), as terrorist Janet Dominguez
. In 2004 Rubenstein played the scheming Svetlanka Ristic in the soap opera Neighbours
.
and Melbourne Theatre Company
.
In 1993 she had a solo show called, What's a Girl to Do?, where she performed poems written by contemporary Australian women poets. It was later performed by Rubenstein at The Stables Theatre in Sydney (1994)and at the 1995 Edinburgh Festival
.
This show inspired her to do another solo show using work commissioned for her, work that was written to be performed live. She was awarded a Victorian Government Women Artist's Grant and commission contemporary writers to produce the performance pieces that were later and produced in a book called, Confidentially yours. The first performance was in the Playbox Theatre Centre, C.U.B Malthouse
, Melbourne on 11 February 1998. The writers commissioned to produce the work that became Confidentially Yours were, Janis Balodis
, Andrew Bowell, Nick Enright
, Michael Gurr, Daniel Keene, Joanna Murray-Smith
and Debra Oswald
. Andrew Bowell wrote a pair of storied for the show that he later used in the script for the film Lantana
.
In 2005 Rubenstein performed in Menopause the Musical, a comedy breaking down the taboos about "The Change". With Caroline Gillmer
, Susan-Ann Walker and Jane Clifton
, Rubenstein, as "The Dubbo Housewife", explored the stereotypes and madness of that time in a woman's life.
Rubenstein graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art
National Institute of Dramatic Art
The National Institute of Dramatic Art is an Australian national training institute for students of theatre, film, and television, based in the Sydney suburb of Kensington. It is supported by the federal Office for the Arts, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. NIDA is located adjacent...
in 1967 and has worked extensively in live theatre, television, films and as a narrator of audio books. She has produced a significant body of work as a narrator of audio books and has won several awards in this field.
Television Work
Rubenstein has worked in television comedies, drama, mini-series and TV movies. In 1970 she appeared in an episode of Homicide. She played a guest role in PrisonerPrisoner (TV series)
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
(1979–80), as terrorist Janet Dominguez
Prisoner characters - Miscellaneous
A list of miscellaneous characters in the television series Prisoner.Listed in order of appearance:* Eddie Cook , an electrician contracted to do repair work at the prison...
. In 2004 Rubenstein played the scheming Svetlanka Ristic in the soap opera Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
.
Films
- Josh JarmanJosh JarmanJosh Jarman is a 2004 Australian comedy film directed by Pip Mushin and starring Marcus Graham. Filming took place around Melbourne, Australia....
(2004), directed by Pip Mushin - Siam SunsetSiam SunsetSiam Sunset is an Australian comedy film released in 1999. It was directed by John Polson and stars Linus Roache and Danielle Cormack.-Plot:...
(1999), directed by John PolsonJohn PolsonJohn Polson is an Australian actor, director and founder of Tropfest. In February 2001, Polson attended the 12th Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival in Hokkaidō, Japan where his film Siam Sunset won the Minami Toshiko Award... - The Inner Sanctuary (1996), directed by Chris Clarke
- The Girl Who Came LateThe Girl Who Came LateThe Girl Who Came Late aka Daydream Believer is a 1991 Australian romantic comedy film starring Miranda Otto, Martin Kemp and Gia Carides; and directed by Kathy Mueller. Otto was nominated for an Australian Film Institute Award for "Best Actress in a Lead Role"...
(1991), directed by Kathy Mueller
Theatre
Rubenstein's career in the theatre includes work with several major Australian companies, including the Nimrod Theatre CompanyNimrod Theatre Company
The Nimrod Theatre Company, in Nimrod Street, Kings Cross, Sydney, Australia, was founded by in 1970 by John Bell, Richard Wherrett and Ken Horler, and gained a reputation for producing more "good new Australian drama" from 1970 to 1985 than any other Australian theatre company...
and Melbourne Theatre Company
Melbourne Theatre Company
The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest professional theatre company in Australia, and has its own theatre, The MTC Theatre – which houses the 500-seat Sumner Theatre and the 150-seat Lawler Studio – located in Melbourne's Arts...
.
In 1993 she had a solo show called, What's a Girl to Do?, where she performed poems written by contemporary Australian women poets. It was later performed by Rubenstein at The Stables Theatre in Sydney (1994)and at the 1995 Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
.
This show inspired her to do another solo show using work commissioned for her, work that was written to be performed live. She was awarded a Victorian Government Women Artist's Grant and commission contemporary writers to produce the performance pieces that were later and produced in a book called, Confidentially yours. The first performance was in the Playbox Theatre Centre, C.U.B Malthouse
Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne
Malthouse Theatre is the resident theatre company of the Malthouse performing arts complex in Southbank, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct....
, Melbourne on 11 February 1998. The writers commissioned to produce the work that became Confidentially Yours were, Janis Balodis
Janis Balodis
Jānis Balodis was an army officer and politician who was a principal figure in the foundation and government of independent Latvia. He was commander in chief of the army and navy during the Latvian war of independence and later was a cabinet member and vice president...
, Andrew Bowell, Nick Enright
Nick Enright
-Life:He was drama captain of St Ignatius' College, Riverview in 1964, where, like Gerard Windsor and Justin Fleming, he was taught by Melvyn Morrow. At that school, he won the 1sts Debating Premiership in both 1966 and 1967....
, Michael Gurr, Daniel Keene, Joanna Murray-Smith
Joanna Murray-Smith
Joanna Murray-Smith is a Melbourne based playwright, screenwriter, novelist, librettist and newspaper columnist.-Biography:...
and Debra Oswald
Debra Oswald
Debra Oswald is an Australian writer for film, television, stage, radio and children's fiction. In 2008 her Stories in the Dark won Best Play in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. She is creator and head writer of the Channel 10 drama series Offspring, for which she won the 2011 NSW Premier's...
. Andrew Bowell wrote a pair of storied for the show that he later used in the script for the film Lantana
Lantana (film)
Lantana is a 2001 Australian film, directed by Ray Lawrence and featuring Anthony LaPaglia, Kerry Armstrong, Geoffrey Rush and Barbara Hershey. It is based on the play Speaking In Tongues by Andrew Bovell, which premiered at Sydney's Griffin Theatre Company...
.
In 2005 Rubenstein performed in Menopause the Musical, a comedy breaking down the taboos about "The Change". With Caroline Gillmer
Caroline Gillmer
Caroline Gillmer is an Australian actress, best known for her roles in various television series, such as Prisoner as Helen Smart and Neighbours as Cheryl Stark....
, Susan-Ann Walker and Jane Clifton
Jane Clifton
Jane Clifton is a Gibraltar-born actress and singer who lived as a child in Cardiff, Wales. In 1961 she emigrated to Perth, Australia. Her best known acting role is probably that of tough prison bookie Margo Gaffney in Prisoner...
, Rubenstein, as "The Dubbo Housewife", explored the stereotypes and madness of that time in a woman's life.
Awards and nominations
- 1996 – a recipient of the inaugural Women Artists Grants, a Victorian Government initiative to encourage emerging women artists living and working in Victoria.
- 1998 – TDK Australian Audio Book AwardsTDK Australian Audio Book AwardsThe TDK Australian Audio Book Awards were established by the National Library of Australia in 1988 and sponsored by TDK from 1991. They were the leading audio book awards in Australia between 1989 and 1999, and were open to both commercial and non-commercial publishers.The aims were: to improve the...
Narrator Award for Unabridged Fiction: Dreamtime Alice by Mandy Sayer - 2001 – Vision Australia Library Awards, joint winner of the Adult Narrator of the Year Award with James WrightJames WrightJames Wright or Jim Wright may refer to:*James Homer Wright , American pathologist*James Wright , President of Dartmouth College, historian*James Wright , American creator of Silly Putty...
reading of The Architect by Jillian Watkinson.
External links
- doollee.com – Playwrights
- Candide reviews Nimrod Theatre (Retrieved 8 August 2007)