# Robyn Nevin

Robyn Anne Nevin AO (25 September 1942) is an Australian actress, director, and stage producer, recognised with the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards and the JC Williamson Award at the Helpmann Awards for her outstanding contributions to Australian theatre performance art. Former head of both the Queensland Theatre Company and the Sydney Theatre Company, she has directed more than 30 productions and acted in more than 80 plays, collaborating with internationally renowned artists, including Richard Wherrett, Simon Phillips, Geoffrey Rush, Julie Andrews, Aubrey Mellor, Jennifer Flowers, Cate Blanchett and Lee Lewis.
Nevin is also known for her roles in films and televisions series, including Water Under the Bridge (1980) as Shasta, role that earned her a Logie Awards and a Penguin Award, Upper Middle Bogan (2014) and Top of the Lake (2014), and international film acting as Councillor Dillard in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions (both 2003), and as Edna in the horror film Relic (2020).

## Early life

Robyn Nevin was born in Melbourne, to Josephine Pauline Casey and William George Nevin. She was educated at Genazzano Convent until the age of 11, when she moved with her family to Hobart, Tasmania, and was enrolled at the Fahan School, a non-denominational school for girls. While there, she played the lead in the school's production of Snow White at the Theatre Royal. Her parents were conservative and conventional, her father the managing director of Dunlop Australia, her mother a housewife, so to enter the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) at the age of 16 in the very first intake in 1959 was a brave step, in which she was fully supported by her parents.

## Career

At the outset of her career, she had a variety of roles in radio and television, working mainly at the Australian Broadcasting Commission, including current affairs, music, chat shows and children's shows throughout the early 1960s. With the Old Tote Theatre Company she acted in The Legend of King O'Malley by Bob Ellis and Michael Boddy in 1970. She gravitated back to theatre, where she has been a constant presence for the last 40 years.
Although theatre has been her home ground she has also starred in numerous Australian films and mini-series, landing many credits for strong supporting roles. She made one foray into directing in The More Things Change... (1986).
In 1996 she became artistic director of the Queensland Theatre Company, a position which she held with great success, rescuing the company from bankruptcy and leaving it flourishing in 1999, when she took over the position of artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company, where she was artistic director until the end of 2007, having created such memorable additions as The Actor's Company, the only professional repertory company in the nation, and the hugely successful Wharf Revue.
In 2006 she established The STC Actors Company and directed its debut production of Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children. Her other extensive directing credits for Sydney Theatre Company include: Boy Gets Girl (2005), Summer Rain (2005), Scenes from a Separation (2004), Hedda Gabler (2004), Harbour (2004), The Real Thing (2003), A Doll's House (2002) and Hanging Man (2002).
Other directing credits include After the Ball, Honour, Summer Rain and A Month in the Country (Queensland Theatre Company); Kid Stakes, Scenes from a Separation, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll and On Top of the World (Melbourne Theatre Company); The Removalists (State Theatre of South Australia) and The Marriage of Figaro (State Opera of South Australia).
Nevin has performed in a range of roles at the Sydney Theatre Company, beginning in 1979 as Miss Docker in A Cheery Soul by Patrick White (reprised in 2001); and also including as Roxane in Cyrano de Bergerac in 1981; as Ranyevskaya in The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov in 2005; and as Mrs Venable in Suddenly Last Summer by Tennessee Williams in 2015.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1973 | Libido | Sister Caroline (segment ‘The Priest’) | Feature film |
| 1973 | Reflections | | Film short |
| 1975 | Something Other | | Film short |
| 1976 | Caddie | Black Eye | Feature film |
| 1976 | Dr. K | | Film short |
| 1976 | The Fourth Wish | Connie | Feature film |
| 1978 | The Irishman | Jenny Doolan | Feature film |
| 1978 | Marx | | Film short |
| 1978 | The Clown and the Mind Reader | | Film short |
| 1979 | Temperament Unsuited | Anne | Film short |
| 1980 | Tread Softly | Claire | Film short |
| 1981 | Letting Go | | Film short |
| 1982 | Fighting Back | Mary | Feature film |
| 1983 | Goodbye Paradise | Kate | Feature film |
| 1983 | Careful, He Might Hear You | Lila | Feature film |
| 1984 | The Coolangatta Gold | Robyn Lukas | Feature film |
| 1988 | Emerald City | Kate Rogers | Feature film |
| 1992 | Resistance | Wiley | Feature film |
| 1992 | Greenkeeping | Mum | Feature film |
| 1994 | Lucky Break | Anne-Marie LePine | Feature film |
| 1995 | Angel Baby | Dr. Norberg | Feature film |
| 1997 | The Castle | Supreme Court Judge | Feature film |
| 2003 | The Matrix Reloaded | Councillor Dillard | Feature film |
| 2003 | Bad Eggs | Eleanor Poulgrain | Feature film |
| 2003 | The Matrix Revolutions | Councillor Dillard | Feature film |
| 2011 | The Eye of the Storm | Lal | Feature film |
| 2013 | The Turning | Carol Lang | Feature film (segment ‘Reunion’) |
| 2015 | Ruben Guthrie | Susan Guthrie | Feature film |
| 2016 | Gods of Egypt | Sharifa | Feature film |
| 2018 | Death in Bloom | Mrs. Patterson | Film short |
| 2020 | Groundhog Night | Rose | Film short |
| 2020 | Relic | Edna | Feature film |
| 2022 | Lacerate | Jeanne | Film short |
| 2023 | The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race | Joan Bunyan | Feature film |
| 2024 | Sting | Gunter | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1961 | The Outcasts | | TV series |
| 1962 | Consider Your Verdict | Judith Harper | TV series, 1 episode: "Queen Versus Glandon" |
| 1967 | Bellbird | | TV series |
| 1971 | The Comedy Game | Kate Sullivan | TV series, 1 episode: "Our Man in Canberra" |
| 1973 | Our Man in the Company | Miss Healey | TV series, 1 episode: "Let Women Go Free" |
| 1973 | The Taming of the Shrew | Barmaid | TV film |
| 1973 | How Could You Believe Me When I Said I'd Be Your Valet When You Know I've Been a Liar All My Life? | | Teleplay |
| 1973 | President Wilson in Paris | Mrs. Wilson | Teleplay |
| 1974 | Matlock Police | Sue Palmer | TV series, 1 episode: "Dancing Class" |
| 1974 | Ryan | Susan Davis | TV series, 1 episode: "Negative Proof" |
| 1974; 1975 | Behind the Legend | Guest roles | TV series, 1 episode: "William Bligh" (1974) |
| 1975 | Ben Hall | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1975 | Behind the Legend | Guest role | TV series, 1 episode: "ST Gill" |
| 1976 | God Knows Why, But It Works | Nurse | Film documentary |
| 1977 | Say You Want Me | Interviewing Officer | TV film |
| 1978 | Father, Dear Father | Mrs. Webster | TV series, episode 4: "Novel Exercise" |
| 1979 | The Oracle | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1980 | Notes on a Landscape | Herself | Film documentary |
| 1980 | Water Under the Bridge | Shasta | TV miniseries, 8 episodes |
| 1980 | The Sullivans | Rachael Dawson | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1980 | A Toast to Melba | Nellie Melba | TV film |
| 1980 | Spring & Fall | Mary | TV series, Series 1, episode 2: "The Last Card" |
| 1981 | Oz '81 | Various characters | TV series |
| 1981 | Degrees of Change | | Teleplay |
| 1982 | The Naked Breast | Narrator | Film documentary |
| 1982 | Spring & Fall | Anne | TV series, Season 2, episode 2:"Perfect Company" |
| 1983 | The Dismissal | Lady Kerr | TV miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1983 | For Love or Money | Herself | Film documentary |
| 1984 | Conferenceville | Dr Cindy Broughton | TV film |
| 1984 | Making 'The Coolangatta Gold' | Herself (uncredited) | Film special |
| 1985 | Hanlon | Minnie Dean | TV series, episode: "In Defence of Minnie Dean" |
| 1990 | The Ham Funeral | Mrs. Goosgog | Teleplay |
| 1990 | Shadows of the Heart | Mrs. Hanlon | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1993 | Seven Deadly Sins | Margot | TV series, episode 3: 'Sloth' |
| 1993 | The Burning Piano: A Portrait of Patrick White | Herself | TV film |
| 1995–99 | Halifax f.p. | Angela Halifax | TV film series, 3 episodes: "The Feeding", "Cradle and All", "A Murder of Crows" |
| 2003 | Enter the Matrix | Councillor Dillard (voice) | Video game |
| 2013-16 | Upper Middle Bogan | Margaret Denyar | TV series, 24 episodes |
| 2013-16 | Top of the Lake | Jude Griffin | TV series, 4 episodes: "1.1", "1.3", "1.4", "1.5" |
| 2013-16 | The Broken Shore | Cecily Addison | TV film "3.5", "3.7" |
| 2014 | Rake | Banking Counsel Assisting | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Stories I Wanted to Tell You in Person | Anna | TV film |
| 2016 | Cleverman | Jane O'Grady | TV series, episode: "Containment" |
| 2018 | Back in Very Small Business | Celeste Di Nonno | TV series, 8 episodes |
| 2019 | Doctor Doctor | Dinah | TV series, Season 4, 3 episodes |
| 2020 | In Creative Company | Herself | Podcast series, 1 episode |
| 2020 | The End | Dawn | TV series, 8 episodes |
| 2021 | The Moth Effect | Voice of M | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2022 | Wolf Like Me | Gwen | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2022 | God's Favorite Idiot | Helen | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2025 | Apple Cider Vinegar | Alma Hirsch | TV series, 2 episodes |

### Other appearances

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2015 | The Making Of 'Ruben Guthrie' | Herself / Susan Guthrie | Video |
| 2012 | Raising The Curtain | Interviewee | TV series |
| 2007 | In the Company of Actors | Herself | TV special |
| 2003 | Over Easy: On Location With 'Bad Eggs' | Herself | Video |
| 2001 | Burke's Backyard | Guest Celebrity Gardener | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2001 | Australian Story | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1998 | The Edge of the Possible | Narrator (voice) | TV documentary |
| 1998 | Witness | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1998 | Australian Story | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1998 | Denise | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1994 | Ernie and Denise | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1994 | Rites of Passage | Narrator | TV documentary |

## Theatre and musical
### Sydney Theatre Company and other

Sydney Theatre Company is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales, which performs at The Wharf Theatre, the Roslyn Packer Theatre and the Sydney Opera House. Nevin was associate artistic director from 1984 to 1987, and first artistic director from 1999 to 2007, producing twenty plays. She has also acted in twenty-seven productions of the company.

### Theatre

| Title | Years | Role | Location | Notes |
| Macbeth | 1980 | | Nimrod Theatre Company | |
| Close of Play | 1980 | Margaret | Sydney Opera House | Stage musical; directed by Rodney Fisher |
| The Precious Woman | 1980 | Su-Ling | Sydney Opera House | Stage musical; directed by Richard Wherrett |
| Cyrano de Bergerac | 1981 | Roxanne | Sydney Opera House | Stage musical; directed by Richard Wherrett |
| Macbeth | 1982 | Lady Macbeth | Sydney Opera House | Stage musical; directed by Richard Wherrett |
| The Perfectionist | 1982 | Barbara | Sydney Opera House | Stage musical; written by David Williamson, directed by Rodney Fisher |
| The Way of the World | 1983 | Millamant | Sydney Opera House | Stage musical; directed by Richard Wherrett |
| Present Laughter | 1983 | Gussie | Theatre Royal | Stage musical; written by Noël Coward, directed by Richard Wherrett |
| The Perfectionist | 1984 | Barbara | Sydney Opera House | Stage musical written by David Williamson, directed by Rodney Fisher |
| The Perfect Mismatch | 1984 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; writer and director |
| Heartbreak House | 1985 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; writer and director |
| Family Favourites | 1985 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; writer and director |
| Mixed Doubles | 1986 | Queen Dollallola | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; directed by Michael Scott-Mitchell |
| The Seagull | 1986 | Arkadina | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; directed by Jean-Pierre Mignon |
| Siesta in a Pink Hotel | 1987 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; writer and director |
| The Philadelphia Story | 1987 | – | Sydney Opera House | Stage musical; writer and director |
| Emerald City | 1987 | Kate | Sydney Opera House | Stage musical; written by David Williamson, directed by Richard Wherrett |
| Tom & Viv | 1987 | Viv | Sydney Opera House | Stage musical; directed by Aubrey Mellor |
| Woman in Mind | 1987 | Susan | Sydney Opera House | Stage musical; written by Alan Ayckbourn, directed by Richard Wherrett |
| Big and Little | 1988 | Lotte | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; directed by Harald Clemen |
| The Ham Funeral | 1989 | First Lady | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; directed by Neil Armfield |
| The Removalists | 1991 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; director |
| The Girl who saw Everything | 1992 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; director |
| The Recruit | 1999 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; director |
| Corporate Vibes | 1999 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; writer and director |
| The Great Man | 2000 | – | Sydney Opera House | Stage musical; director |
| Life After George | 2000 | Various characters | Sydney Opera House | Play; written by Hannie Rayson, directed by Marion Potts |
| A Cheery Soul | 2000 | Miss Docker | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; directed by Jim Sharman |
| Old Masters | 2001 | Lillian Fromm | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; directed by Benedict Andrews |
| The Glass Menagerie | 2002 | Amanda Wingfield | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; directed by Jennifer Flowers |
| A Doll's House | 2002 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; written by Henrik Ibsen |
| Hanging Man | 2002 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical |
| Major Barbara | 2003 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical |
| The Real Thing | 2003 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical |
| The Breath of Life | 2003 | Madeleine | Sydney Opera House | Stage musical; written by Sir David Hare, directed by Max Stafford-Clark |
| Hedda Gabler | 2004 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical |
| Scenes from Separation | 2004 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical |
| Summer Rain | 2005 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical |
| Boy Gets Girl | 2005 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical |
| The Cherry Orchard | 2005 | Ranyevskaya | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; directed by Howard Davies |
| Hedda Gabler | 2006 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; |
| Mother Courage and Her Children | 2006 | – | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical |
| Love Lies Bleeding | 2007 | Toinette | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; written by Don DeLillo, directed by Lee Lewis |
| The Women of Troy | 2008 | Joan | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; directed by Barrie Kosky |
| The Year of Magical Thinking | 2008-2009 | Joan Didion | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; written by Joan Didion, directed by Cate Blanchett |
| Long Day's Journey into Night | 2010 | Mary Tyrone | Sydney Opera House | Stage musical; directed by Andrew Upton |
| Suddenly Last Summer | 2015 | Mrs Venable | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; directed by Kip Williams |
| King Lear | 2015 | Fool | Wharf Theatre | Stage musical; directed by Neil Armfield |
| A German Life | 2021 | Brunhilde Pomsel| | Adelaide Festival | Stage musical; directed by Neil Armfield |

### Melbourne Theatre Company

Melbourne Theatre Company is an Australian theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, which performs at the Southbank Theatre, the Arts Centre Melbourne and the Malthouse. Nevin directed four plays in the 90s and she was the artistic director of the company with Pamela Rabe, Aidan Fennessy in 2012. She has also acted in fourteen productions of the company.
| Title | Years | Role | Location | Notes |
| Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | 1984 | Martha | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; directed by Roger Hodgman |
| The Cherry Orchard | 1989 | Madam Ranevskaya | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; directed by Roger Hodgman |
| The House of Blue Leaves | 1990 | Bunny | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; directed by Roger Hodgman |
| On Top of the World | 1990 | – | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; director |
| Lady Windermere's Fan - 2 | 1995 | Lady Windemere | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; directed by Roger Hodgman |
| Summer of the Seventeenth Doll | 1995 | – | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; director |
| Scenes from a Separation | 1995 | – | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; director |
| Kid Stakes | 1996 | – | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; director |
| A Cheery Soul | 1996 | Miss Docker | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; directed by Neil Armfield |
| Julius Caesar | 1996 | Mark Antony | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; directed by Simon Phillips |
| Master Class | 1997 | Maria Callas | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; directed by Rodney Fisher |
| Amy's View - 2 | 1998 | Esme Allen | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; directed by Simon Phillips |
| August: Osage County | 2009 | Violet Weston | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; directed by Simon Phillips |
| The Drowsy Chaperone | 2010 | Mrs Tottendale | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; directed by Simon Phillips |
| Apologia | 2011 | Kristin Miller | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; directed by Simon Phillips |
| Queen Lear | 2012 | Lear | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; directed by Rachel McDonald |
| Other Desert Cities | 2013 | Polly Wyeth | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; directed by Sam Strong |
| Neighbourhood Watch | 2014 | Ana | Arts Centre Melbourne | Stage musical; directed by Simon Stone |

## Awards & honours

Nevin has won multiple Helpmann, Green Room and Sydney Theatre Awards for her theatre work. Her Helpmann Awards include Best Female Actor in a Play for Women of Troy, Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play for Summer of the Seventeenth Doll and Angels in America, and Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for My Fair Lady.
In 1981, she won the TV Logie award in the 'Best Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Telemovie' category for her role as Shasta in Water Under The Bridge on the Ten Network. She had already won Logies as 'Most Popular Female' in Tasmania in 1965 and 1967 during her stint at the ABC.
On 8 June 1981, she was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to the performing arts. She was promoted to Officer in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours for " distinguished service to the performing arts as an acclaimed actor and artistic director, and as a mentor and role model ".
In 1999 she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Tasmania.
On 21 January 2004 she gave the Australia Day Address.

### Film & television awards

| Association | Year | Work | Category | Result |
| AACTA Awards | 1977 | The Fourth Wish | Best Actress in a Lead Role | Nominated |
| AACTA Awards | 1983 | Careful, He Might Hear You | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Nominated |
| AACTA Awards | 2014 | Upper Middle Bogan | Best Performance in a Television Comedy | Nominated |
| AACTA Awards | 2014 | Top of the Lake | Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama | Nominated |
| AACTA Awards | 2018 | Back in Very Small Business | Best Performance in a Television Comedy | Nominated |
| Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | 2021 | Relic | Best Supporting Performance | Nominated |
| Equity Ensemble Awards | 2014 | Upper Middle Bogan | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Won |
| Equity Ensemble Awards | 2014 | Top of the Lake | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Telemovie/Mini-Serie | Won |
| Film Critics Circle of Australia | 1987 | The More Things Change | Best Director | Won |
| Fright Meter Awards | 2020 | Relic | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |
| Logie Awards | 1965 | Herself | Tasmania: Most Popular Female | Won |
| Logie Awards | 1967 | Herself | Tasmania: Most Popular Female | Won |
| Logie Awards | 1981 | Water Under the Bridge | Best Lead Actress in a Single Drama or Mini Series | Won |
| Penguin Award | 1981 | Water Under the Bridge | Best Actress | Won |
| Sammy Awards | 1981 | Water Under the Bridge | Best Actress in a Television Movie | Won |
| Sammy Awards | 1981 | Water Under the Bridge | Best Actress in a Television Series/Miniseries | Won |

### Theatre awards

| Association | Year | Work | Category | Result |
| Australian National Theatre Award | 1976 | Herself | Best Actress New South Wales | Won |
| Green Room Award | 1995 | Scenes from A Separation | Best Director | Nominated |
| Green Room Award | 1996 | Julius Caesar | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Nominated |
| Green Room Award | 1999 | Long Day's Journey into Night | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Nominated |
| Green Room Award | 2008 | The Women of Troy | Best Female Performer | Nominated |
| Green Room Award | 2009 | August: Osage Country | Best Female Performer | Won |
| Helpmann Award | 2005 | Hedda Gabler | Best Direction of a Play | Nominated |
| Helpmann Award | 2009 | The Women of Troy | Best Female Actor in a Play | Won |
| Helpmann Award | 2010 | August: Osage Country | Best Female Actor in a Play | Nominated |
| Helpmann Award | 2012 | Summer of the Seventeenth Doll | Best Female Actor in a Play | Won |
| Helpmann Award | 2014 | Angels in America | Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play | Won |
| Helpmann Award | 2015 | Suddenly Last Summer | Best Female Actor in a Play | Nominated |
| Helpmann Award | 2017 | My Fair Lady | Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical | Won |
| Helpmann Award | 2017 | Herself | JC Williamson Lifetime Achievement | Won |
| Queensland Matilda Award | 1997 | Herself | Outstanding Contribution to Queensland Theatre | Won |
| Sydney Critics Circle Award | 1987 | Herself | Outstanding Achievement in Theatre | Won |
| Sydney Critics Circle Award | 1991 | Diving for Pearls | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Won |
| Sydney Critics Circle Award | 1992 | Aristophanes Frog | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Won |
| Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards | 1998 | Herself | Outstanding Individual Award | Won |
| Sydney Theatre Awards | 2006 | Summer Rain | Best Direction in a Musical | Won |
| Sydney Theatre Awards | 2011 | Neighbourhood watch | Best Leading Actress of a Mainstage Production | Nominated |
| Variety Club Heart Award | 1998 | Herself | Stage Award | Won |

## Personal life

Nevin has been married twice, most notably in her second marriage to "prison playwright" Jim McNeil (1975–1977). She currently lives with her partner, US-born actor and screenwriter Nicholas Hammond. They met when they starred in Alan Ayckbourn's Woman in Mind at the STC in 1987. From her first marriage to Barry Crook, she has a daughter Emily Russell (born 1968) who is also an actor.