INFO
| Name | Rina Patel (she/her) |
| Country of Birth | Aotearoa |
| Place of Residence | Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland |
| Ethnicities | Gujarati (Bodali/Karadi) |
| Artform | Theatre, Screen, Literature |
| Decades Active | 2000s, 2010s, 2020s |
ABOUT
Rina Patel is an actor, writer, screen producer and director who was born in the Year of the Goat and is based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Her creative work centres around her experiences growing up as a queer Gujarati behind-the-counter dairy kid in South Auckland. When beginning her journey into acting, she commented that her dream was:
to work with other talented and like-minded Indo-Asian individuals. Self-expression and creativity is my buzz, and I believe that it’s about time our voices are heard in the realm of theatre to inspire and de-sensitize common stereotypes. Represent.
Patel attended Ōtāhuhu College, where she discovered her passion for acting. This led to her attending Toi Whakaari, where she graduated in 2003. She was the first Indian woman to have studied at the institution. At this time, there was little Asian representation on mainstream television in Aotearoa (Li-Ming Hu and Daniel Sing were part of the Shortland Street cast, and Nisha Madhan joined in 2007). However, Sing and Hu described having to play roles that were Asian stereotypes. Patel hoped to challenge these norms by helping form the theatre group, The Untouchables Collective, a group of South Asian theatre actors that came together in 2003. Retrospectively contemplating the collective in 2020, Patel mentions that “We didn’t have a canon of New Zealand-Indian plays to draw from then – and still don’t, really.”
The collective — which also included Rashmi Pilapitiya, Tarun Mohanbhai, Rajeev Varma, Mishul Prasad and Arindam Sen — aimed to present theatre that reflected the complexities of the members’ cultural identities while simultaneously giving South Asian actors the opportunity to perform and write from their own perspectives. In 2004, alongside Jade Eriksen they put on; Yātra: Journey for Identity at BATS Theatre, which responded to themes that Patel and Pilapitiya explored in the solo shows that they devised while studying at Toi Whakaari.
Patel’s acting credits also include playing Raji in the 2018 production of Tea by Ahilan Karunaharan, Kavita in Tom Sainsbury’s 2008 play GAS, and Grishma Kumari on Shortland Street. Patel also featured in A Thousand Apologies, a sketch comedy TV show responding to Asian typecasting, featuring, written and directed by Asian New Zealanders, which aired in 2008.
Y2K (2011) was Patel’s first short film, which she wrote and directed when she was completing her Master of Arts in Screen Production at the University of Auckland. It is a coming-out story that follows Nita, a young Indian New Zealander as she hitchhikes her way home to her parents to tell them about her girlfriend.
In 2018, Patel launched her self-published book of short stories, 22. She began writing the stories in 2014 when she was staying at her friend Prakash Patel’s home in Whanganui. The poems present a candid perspective of life as growing up in Aotearoa as a queer second-generation Gujarati New Zealander. Prakash Patel also designed the cover art for the collection. As she notes:
22 is an exploration into the mind of an Aotearoa Gujarati second-generation New Zealand born woman … Self-referential and never one to necessarily use plot, character nor structure but more raw thoughts, memories and experience we come to absorb these stories in the form of flash fiction each rising to the surface in delicate, detailed and sometimes neurotic ways.
Since 2019, she has been working with Day One Hāpai te Haeata, a platform that equips rangatahi with resources and knowledge geared towards the creation of their first professionally-funded short films — via their initiative Day One Shorts (formerly Someday Stories). Within this initiative, she has worked in various roles supporting and overseeing the production of well over 35 shorts, including 800 Lunches (2019), written and directed by Bala Murali Shingade and produced by Ankita Singh.
Patel has worked with several charitable organisations, including Mixit and Duffy Books in Homes, advocating for literacy and greater involvement in the arts for New Zealanders from a young age. In her variety of roles in the creative industries in Aotearoa, she chooses to focus on building a sense of belonging for herself and serving the larger creative community. Throughout her career, Patel has worked on projects that promote stories centring Asian New Zealanders and embolden young people to pursue their creative and artistic passions.
LINKS
Key works / presentations
As a performer:
2018 — Tea, Q Theatre, Tāmaki Makaurau
2014 — Shortland Street (Sheree Sharma, featured guest role)
2008 — Shortland Street (Grishma Kumari)
2008 — A Thousand Apologies, Great Southern TV (various roles)
2007 — GAS, Auckland Old Folks Association, Tāmaki Makaurau
2005 — The Lambuji & Tinguji Show, BATS Theatre, Te Whanganui-a-Tara
2005 — and what remains, BATS Theatre, Te Whanganui-a-Tara
2004 — Duffy’s Books In Homes, six month travelling theatre tour, Te Ika-A-Māui
2004 — Yātra; journey for identity, BATS Theatre, Te Whanganui-a-Tara
2003 — The Epic of Gilgamesh excerpts, Tara Arts, UK
1999 — A Midsummers Night’s Dream, Tāmaki Makaurau (University of Auckland Summer Shakespeare, directed by Ben Crowder & Vanessa Chapple)
1996 — Still Speeding, Maidment Youth Theatre, Tāmaki Makaurau (directed Sam Scott)
1996 — Romeo & Juliet; Ōtāhuhu College, Tāmaki Makaurau (Tybalt; directed by Kerry Lynch)
As producer:
2024 — Day One Shorts (series producer)
2024 — Cradle & Grave, Fresh Shorts (on-set producer; directed by Tema Pua)
2023 — PleasureDora (directed by Mark Prebble)
As writer and director:
2011 — Y2K
As author:
2024 — Featured poem, Fisherman’s Hobby, Tales from The Hauraki Gulf, Auckland Writers Anthology
2023 — Featured poem, Eat or Get Waxed, Tales from Dominion Rd, Auckland Writers Anthology
2022 — Featured poem, It Came Following Me, Tales from The Auckland Domain; Auckland Writers Anthology
2018 — 22, self-published, Printed by Ligare, editor; Rebecca Lal, purchase via Rina Patel @snakey.p
2016 — With A Suitcase of Saris: From India to Aotearoa: Stories of Pioneer Indian Woman, featured story about Dahi Jeram (Rina’s maternal Ba; Grandmother), editor; Rebecca Lal, compilation and design; Vasanti Unka
