Career
Her accolades include Best awards on stage and screen. (1999), the sequel to cult classic Once Were Warriors. Brunning is of Māori descent from the tribes of Ngati Raukawa and Ngai Tuhoe.
She was the Acting Coach for the Oscar nominated short film Two Cars, One Night directed by Taika Waititi.
Brunning trained for two years at Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School (1990-1991). After graduating, she played many leading roles in theatre, film and television
She also became one of the most well known faces on New Zealand television in the role Jaki Manu in the soap Shortland Street and other programmes. In 1994, she appeared in the classic Nga Tangata Toa play written by Hone Kouka and directed by Colin McColl.
Brunning also appeared on stage in major productions for the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, the biggest arts event in the country, in productions such as Hide ‘n’ Seek (1992) (New Zealand and Australian tour) and Waiora (1996) (New Zealand, Brighton Festival and Hawai"i tours) and Blue Smoke.
She played the role of Belle in the United Kingdom-New Zealand co-production of Beauty and the Beast (1998). A speaker of the indigenous Māori language, Brunning also worked as a theatre director, cultural advisor and script consultant. She also collaborated with Briar on a Taki Rua production in 1996 called "Flat out Brown".
Directed Maori language play "Te Ohaki a Nihe" written by Selwyn Muru and devised/directed with Briar again on a touring show called Waitapu also in 1996.
She was Assistant on the play The Songmaker"s Chair written by Albert Wendt and directed by Nathaniel Lees. Brunning directed the short film Journey to Ihipa (2008) which screened at the New Zealand International Festivals and internationally including the Vladivostok Festival (2009) and in New New York
Profile and Screenography at New Zealand On Screen Nancy Brunning at the Internet Movie Database Interview with Nancy Brunning on her first play Hikoi, Standing Room Only, Radio New Zealand National, 2015.
