'Hope is an act of defiance': Miranda Harcourt on avoiding paranoia and negativity

The actor, director and coach on verbatim theatre and why New Zealand should rethink our school calendar.

In the New Zealand arts scene, everyone knows the big names – those who've made it to Hollywood or been nominated for prestigious acting awards and stepped beyond New Zealand. But one person unites local drama graduates with A-List actors as students, and that's Miranda Harcourt.

The renowned acting coach, specialising in screen naturalism, has worked with everyone from repeat client Nicole Kidman to [redacted] (she signs many NDAs), and most recently lent her expertise to Netflix's East of Eden series shot here in New Zealand.

As well as coaching, Harcourt, alongside her husband Stuart McKenzie and William Brandt, pioneered verbatim theatre in New Zealand. Their 1993 one-person play, Verbatim, drew on dozens of interviews with violent offenders in prisons, as well as their families. The result was a, well, verbatim script performed in prisons throughout the country, where Harcourt originally played every character.

Verbatim theatre has grown since, with the likes of The Haka Party Incident utilising the technique to much acclaim. And now, Harcourt and McKenzie are back with their own verbatim production. After God follows McKenzie on a quest to understand belief and spirituality. Along the way, he encounters a gaggle of real-life characters who share their thoughts on why we are here. The small cast inhabiting the many characters is led by local theatre legend Michael Hurst.

For Harcourt, a born-and-bred atheist, the appeal of After God is its curiosity. "This isn’t a play that tells people what to believe," she says Harcourt. "It’s a quest. It’s about exploring why these ideas continue to haunt us."

We asked Harcourt to share her thoughts on the state of the world.

What bothers you most about the world right now? 

In the world of acting I always say “Make it about the other person!” That’s how you get a great performance. I call it reversing the flow. But the skill of listening, questioning and “making it about the other person” seems to be in short supply in our everyday human interactions right now. Reverse the flow!

What sort of people do you avoid?

Something I enjoy about my job is that every day I am thrown amongst a different crowd of people. This year I have visited Dublin, Athens, Amsterdam, Brussels, Nashville, Los Angeles, the Waimauku Pine Forest, Miramar… the list goes on. Of course I can’t predict what kind of people I will encounter. So, I try to avoid people who lean in to paranoia or who get their energy from a dark place of negativity or meanspiritedness.

What makes you want to get up in the morning?

My family and the people I love — of course. But also my work makes me want to get up in the morning. I love coaching with actors and directors. I love the surprising challenges and tricky issues that have to be figured out each day. I feel lucky that every single day is different from the one before and every night when I go to bed, a new and interesting challenge awaits the next morning.

How do you hold onto hope in these crazy times?

Stuart and I are holding onto hope by writing and co-directing the play AFTER GOD. The subtitle, “Hope is an act of defiance” — comes direct from one of the people the play is about, American Death-of-God theologian Mark C Taylor. It’s a completely verbatim play in conversation with philosophers, cosmologists, Tibetan rinpoches, taxi-drivers, hotel receptionists, students, a famous singing nun, and Stuart’s own mum. Yes, it is hopeful. 

What is the single best quality a human can have?

Creativity and the courage to make something new. 

What’s over-rated?

Breakfast-food. I like a whole bunch of liquids in the morning. Turbo Tonic, Nutrient Rescue and a double espresso.

What’s underrated?

Storage! Luckily we live in a 1960s house with heaps of it. All our kids have left home and they have also left heaps of their stuff for us to hold onto.

If you could have a do-over, what would you change?

I would not have run full-tilt into a plate-glass window 20 years ago, breaking nine teeth and scarring the bridge of my nose.

What brings you joy?

Stuart and I love to collect New Zealand and Australian contemporary art. Something we bought recently is Aamon Ngakuru’s painting CATALOGUE, it is huge and mysterious. And I love looking at Tony Delatour’s painting PRIZEFIGHTER.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

Slow down and listen. That was from George Webby, at the New Zealand Drama School in 1984.

What advice do you wish you’d never followed? 

None! Much advice has been offered, but if it made no sense to me, I did not follow it!

Tell us about a controversial opinion you hold.

The timing of the school year should change — because the climate is changing! Everything should be pushed forward by a couple of weeks. This would also shift our addiction to old European seasonal high-days and holidays. Our own celebration of Matariki is a great step in the right direction.

When you’re feeling low, what helps?

Stuart and I love to walk the hills, beaches and pathways of Wellington. Last weekend we walked the new Te Ara Tupou, which runs from the waterfront all the way to Petone.