Ko Hikaroroa te mauka
Ko Te Tai o Araiteuru te moana
Ko Waikouaiti te awa
Ko Uruoa, ko Araiteuru, ko Tākitimu kā waka
Ko Kāi Tahu te iwi
Ko Puketeraki te marae
Ko Kati Huirapa te hapū
Ko Alex Medland tōku ikoa

Kia ora. I'm an actor and award-winning playwright from Aotearoa/New Zealand, based in Edinburgh. I write about problematic women in disastrous situations.My first proper venture into theatre was at age 18, when I moved to Melbourne to train at The John Bolton Theatre School. Unfortunately I wasn't funny enough to be a clown, so I decided to try writing instead.

My play We're Gonna Kill Billy won the Adam NZ's 2025 award for Best Play, Best Play by a Māori Playwright and Best Play by a Woman. It was also long-listed for the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, shortlisted for the Alpine Fellowship Theatre Prize and the Women's Prize for Playwriting, and was read as part of the Royal Court Theatre's Open Submissions Festival.My other work has been the recipient of Playmarket's Playwrights B4 25 award (Becoming Jeff Bezos, 2024) and the AIR Litteratur Västra Götaland residency (King of the Scouts, 2025).I'm represented by Playmarket NZ (New Zealand and Australia)

Website designed by JACQAL with funding from Creative New Zealand

A play about a capitalist, an outcast, and the last Uber Eats voucher in the world.

On a mountain in the middle of nowhere in rural New Zealand, Gloria Tāwhiri has set up a somewhat peaceful existence after being shunned from society. This peace is promptly disrupted when Jeff Bezos arrives, handcuffs herself to the porch and demands Gloria use the last ‘10% off your first purchase’ UberEats voucher. The two follow a descent into madness involving blood, bodies, and the pleasures of late-stage capitalism.

"A crazy, crazy ride... sings with originality and incisive wit" — Playmarket"One of the best plays I’ve heard read in eons... Two (admittedly) great actors reading it from behind music stands left me more moved than shows with comparatively eyewatering budgets." — The Spinoff

Winner of Playmarket's 2024 Playwrights B4 25 awardLonglisted for A Play, A Pie, and A Pint's 2024 David MacLennan AwardPerformed as a He Kākano rehearsed reading at The Auckland Arts Festival in 2026

We're Gonna Kill Billy

A play about four teenage girls trying to save the world. And also Billy, the thirteen year old they've kidnapped.

In a messy bedroom in Urban New Zealand, Anushka, Mānuka, Bindi and Max await instructions from an online climate awareness group: The Shepherds. They’ve kidnapped the grandson of New Zealand’s richest man to protest a marina he’s building in the Hauraki Gulf. But The Shepherds aren’t responding. And Mānuka’s Mum is supposed to come home soon. As the police arrive, they begin to wonder if the plan was doomed from the beginning.

"It’s so refreshing to see a a piece of theatre featuring characters of this age, written with generosity and understanding of their full humanity." — Adam NZ

Winner of the Adam NZ's 2025 award for Best Play, Best Play by a Māori Playwright and Best Play by a WomanShortlisted for the 2025 Women's Prize for PlaywritingShortlisted for the 2025 Alpine Fellowship Theatre PrizeLonglisted for the 2025 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting (under the pseudonym We're Gonna Kill Richard)Performed as a rehearsed reading at the 21st International Conference on Urban Health in 2025Performed as a rehearsed reading at the Royal Court Theatre's Open Submissions Festival in April 2026

A survivalist horror about parental abandonment, conspiracy culture, and never giving up.

Way out in the New Zealand bush, away from everyone who’s poisoned and evil and woke, Kid has just turned seven years old. It’s the end of the world. Dad spends all day asleep in his armchair. Kid spends all day pretending to be Wolf Cooks, reality TV survivalist. Wolf's been telling her that there’s a tsunami coming. He says he knows exactly what to do. He says he can fix everything if Kid listens to him very, very carefully. What will she do to survive?

Staged in a development season by Half Trick Theatre at the 2025 Edinburgh Horror FestivalRecipient of the 2025 AIR Litteratur Västra Götaland residency to develop the play for a month in SwedenCurrently in development with Silo Theatre

Juney McCloud and the Zombie Apocalypse

"They're coming to get you, Juney"

Juney McCloud hasn’t slept in three days. She’s locked herself in her flat, adopted a dog, and bought enough food to last her weeks. Juney’s ex-girlfriend died a week ago, but all Juney can think about is what she’ll do if there’s a zombie apocalypse. Recently, everything’s felt strange. There’s fights at the supermarkets and road rage on the streets. Nobody seems to be able to listen to one another. Obviously, Zombies aren’t real. Zombies aren’t real, and everything is fine. It’s just that everyone looks so hungry. As the city hums and the screaming begins, Juney is forced to confront rage and mania she’d rather keep hidden.

Staged as an extract at Cloudburst's Leg Breakers New Writing Night in February 2026Staged as an extract at Dundee Rep's Rep Stripped Festival in April 2026Currently in development