Rachel McLean
Writer, Director
Rachel is a Te Whanganui-a-Tara based actor, writer, director and dramaturg. She began her career performing Centrepoint Theatre’s mainstage in Lord of the Flies (2017) and Peter Pan (2018), and was a member of Centrepoint Theatre’s Basement Company (2015, 2018). She graduated from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington in 2022 with a BA in Theatre and Psychology, where she was awarded the Dronke Prize for Drama.
Since graduating they have performed in The Tempest (Wellington Summer Shakespeare, 2023), Top Girls (WRT, 2023), and HAUSDOWN (Inconceivable Productions, 2023-5). Further acting credits in 2025 and 2026 include Farrago Bazaar and Once Upon a Time in Homowood with Red Scare Theatre Company, and Owe with Squash Co. Once Upon a Time in Homowood was awarded Outstanding Ensemble in the 2026 NZ Fringe Festival Awards.
Rachel made her playwriting and directorial debut in NZ Fringe 2024 with the five time award nominated development season of blackpill (Toi Factory). In 2025 she directed and dramaturged the premiere production of Death, Ray. by Zachary Klein, which received nominations for Most Promising Emerging Company and the Parkin Development Award in the New Zealand Fringe Festival. In 2026 they co-directed Stupid Stupid with Katie Hill in the NZ Fringe Festival, which was awarded the San Diego Fringe Tour Ready and Spectacular Organised Chaos Awards.
Throughout 2025 and 2026 she have acted as dramaturg in the development of The Hunt for the Canterbury Panther by Anna Barker, which will premiere in Tahi Festival 2026. Her play blackpill will also have its premiere season in Tahi Festival 2026. Both will be staged at BATS Theatre.
