David O'Donnell (actor-director)

O'Donnell has a diploma in Acting from Toi Whakaari/New Zealand Drama School (1979), where his contemporaries included Lani Tupu and Simon Phillips.

[3] O'Donnell began his academic career as an assistant lecturer in Theatre Studies at Allen Hall, Otago University (1992 -1998), and has taught at Victoria University of Wellington since 1999, where he is as of 2021[update] a full professor in the School of English, Film, Theatre, Media Studies and Art History.

O'Donnell co-edited the 2007 book Performing Aotearoa: New Zealand Theatre and Drama in an Age of Transition with Marc Maufort.

[8][6] He has written and published extensively on aspects of theatre and performance in New Zealand and the Pacific, including articles, book chapters, conference papers and production reviews.

Shakespeare productions include several outdoor Summer Shakespeare productions for Victoria University of Wellington, including A Midsummer Night's Dream (1991), Richard III (featuring Jonathan Hendry in the title role) in 1998 and Hamlet, featuring a female 'hero' (Stevie Hancox-Monk) in 2019.