Biography of James Beaumont

James originally studied fine arts and drama at Warrnambool Institute, Victoria in 1974. He received further training at NIDA, Sydney in 1975. He arrived in NZ in the late 1970s, attending Theatre Corporate. After serving as a company member at the Fortune Theatre for two years with Tony Richardson, he moved to Wellington to work with Depot, Circa, Centrepoint, Toi Whakaari and Bats. James has worked as a director, writer, script assessor, actor and currently works as an educator. He began writing and directing his own material in 1984. In 1990, he was employed at Taki Rua as the theatre´s first director-in-residence. Subsequently, he was awarded the Sunday Star Times Bruce Mason Award. Returning to Australia in 1992, James worked as an actor for the Melbourne Theatre Company, co-directing Vis-a-vis Dance Canberra. He was also involved in script assessment and workshop directing for RAW at Playbox Theatre. Having returned to NZ in 1996, James directed for the Auckland Theatre Company and the Watershed, before taking academic tenure at Waikato University´s Drama Department in 1998. His field of interest is post-colonial and contemporary Aotearoa/NZ and Australian theatre. While at Waikato University, he has helped establish Te Awa, a new regional theatre company with the aim of establishing a professional theatre platform and touring circuit for the Waikato region.