Sarah Peirse

Peirse studied acting for a year at a drama school associated with Auckland's Theatre Corporate, alongside fellow actors, Donogh Rees and Phillip Gordon.^[1]

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

Following her studies, Peirse acted in theatrical productions such as A Bear Called Paddington and Three Sisters. In 1984, after a year in London, she began directing theatre, starting with Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls at Theatre Corporate.^[1]

Peirse’s first screen role was in the 1980 short film Queen Street, followed by a main role in the TV movie It’s Lizzie to Those Close, for which she won a Feltex Best Actress award. She continued to appear in theatre, television and film, and was nominated for an award for her role in the 1985 film Arriving Tuesday, and a Best Supporting Actress award for her role in 1988 fantasy film The Navigator.^[1]

In 1989, Peirse spent two years with the Melbourne Theatre Company, before relocating to Sydney for nine years, followed by a three year stint in the United Kingdom.

Peirse briefly returned to New Zealand to star in the 1994 Peter Jackson film Heavenly Creatures, alongside Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey, playing the role of the ill-fated Honora Rieper Parker.^[1] Jackson had fallen in love with Peirse's acting when she starred in the film A Woman of Good Character, and regarded her as the only choice for the part of Parker. Peirse also acted as drama coach for Melanie Lynskey on the film.^[2]

Peirse again returned to New Zealand, to star in the 2001 coming of age film Rain, playing the role of the disaffected, sophisticated Kate. Her performance earned her two Best Actress awards.^[1] That year, she also starred in the 2001 British TV movie Murder Rooms.^[1]

Peirse's further New Zealand credits include The Hopes and Dreams of Gazza Snell, Under the Vines, the 2011 TV movie Bliss and an award-winning turn in the TV movie Aftershock.^[1] Peirse then starred as Hilda in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014), as well as Dr. Gladys Bell in the American fantasy drama series Sweet Tooth (2021–2023).^[1]

Peirse's Australian TV credits include guest appearances in The Flying Doctors, Water Rats and Spirited and 1987 Australian thriller film Went Up the Hill. More recently she has featured in series such as Old School, Hunters, Seven Types of Ambiguity, Offspring, The Letdown and Love Me.^[1]

Peirse's stage credits include a 2018 production of Melbourne Theatre Company's The Children,^[3] as well as lead roles in Cabaret, Three Sisters, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Molly Sweeney.^[1] Peirse spent many years at both Theatre Corporate and the Mercury Theatre in New Zealand. where she eventually became Associate Director. She has also directed at the Adelaide State Theatre.^[2]

In 2024, Peirse was named in the cast for season three of Foxtel legal drama The Twelve.^[4] On 20 November 2025, Peirse was named in the cast for ABC series Treasure & Dirt.^[5]

Film

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role
1980	A Woman of Good Character	Lizzie
1985	Sylvia	Vivian Wallop
1986	My Letter to George (aka Mesmerized or Shocked)	Victoria's mother
	Arriving Tuesday	Carol
1987	Young Detectives on Wheels	Auntie Kim
1988	The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey	Linnet
1994	Heavenly Creatures	Honora Parker Rieper
2001	Rain	Kate
2002	Unconditional Love	Florist
2010	The Hopes & Dreams of Gazza Snell	Dr. Riebeeck
2011	Bliss: The Beginning of Katherine Mansfield	Annie Beauchamp
2013	The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug	Hilda Blanca
2014	The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies	Hilda Blanca
2018	Mortal Engines	Dr. Twix
2022	Nude Tuesday	Felicity
2024	A Mistake	Mary, Head of Surgery
	Went Up the Hill	Helen
	Addition

Close

Television

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
1983	It's Lizzie to Those Close	Lizzie	TV movie
1984	Inside Straight	Libby Wilkes	1 episode
1987	Steel Riders	Auntie Kim	1 episode
1991	The Flying Doctors	Elizabeth Samuels	1 episode
1996	Water Rats	Margaret Roberts	1 episode
	Fable	Clarissa	TV movie
1998	Murder Call	Harriet Fratelli	1 episode
1999	Dog's Head Bay	Jenny Grant	3 episodes
2001	Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes	Agnes	Miniseries, 1 episode
2008	Aftershock	Angela Flite	TV movie
2009	City Homicide	Lucille Neades	1 episode
2010	Spirited	Charlotte	1 episode
2011	Bliss	Annie Beauchamp	TV movie
2014	Old School	Margaret McCabe	8 episodes	[6]
	Rake	Politicians Commissioner	1 episode
2016	The Shannara Chronicles	Pyria Elessedil	2 episodes
	Hunters	Finnerman	12 episodes
2016–2017	Offspring	Marjorie Van Dyke	13 episodes
2017	Seven Types of Ambiguity	Detective Staszic	Miniseries, 5 episodes
2017–2019	The Letdown	Verity	8 episodes	[7][8]
2020	Stateless	Assistant Secretary Genevieve Mundy	Miniseries, 5 episodes
2021	Sweet Tooth	Dr. Gladys Bell	Season 1, 3 episodes
2021–2023	Love Me	Christine Mathieson	8 episodes	[9]
2021–2024	Under the Vines	Marissa Silverton	17 episodes
2025	The Twelve	Beth Chaplin	Season 3: "Cape Rock Killer", 8 episodes
2026	Treasure & Dirt	TBA	TV series	[5]

Close

As actor

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
	A Streetcar Named Desire	Stella	Mercury Theatre, Auckland
1979	Coming, Ready or Not		Centrepoint Theatre, Palmerston North
	The Daughter-in-Law	Minnie
	The Foursome	Marie
1980	Nativity	Mary	Theatre Corporate, Auckland
	The Stationary Sixth Form Poetry Trip	Molly
1981	Who's Randy
1982	Fanshen
	Outside In	Di – Boss
1984	Gulls
1988	South Pacific	Nellie Forbush	Mercury Theatre, Auckland
1989	The Secret Rapture	Katherine
1990	The Heidi Chronicles	Susan	Russell St Theatre, Melbourne with MTC
1992	The Rose Tattoo	Serafina Delle Rose	Mercury Theatre, Auckland
1995	Dead Funny	Eleanor	Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC
1997	Molly Sweeney	Molly Sweeney	Fairfax Studio, Melbourne with MTC
1998	Vita & Virginia		Maidment Theatre, Auckland
2007	Enlightenment	Lio	Fairfax Studio, Melbourne with MTC
2008	Madness You Can Trust		RNZ National Radio, Wellington
2009	Poor Boy	Ruth Prior	Southbank Theatre, Melbourne with MTC / Sydney Theatre with STC
	Gethsemane	Meredith	Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney
2011	The Business	Van (Vassa)
2012	Tribes	Beth	Southbank Theatre, Melbourne with MTC
	The Gift	Sadie	ATC	[10]
2013	Fury	Alice	Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC
2014	Other Desert Cities	Polly Wyeth	Maidment Theatre, Auckland with ATC
2014–2016	Switzerland	Patricia Highsmith	Sydney Opera House, Southbank Theatre, Melbourne with STC
2015	Endgame	Nell	STC
2016	The Golden Age	Queenie Ayre	Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC
2017	Mark Colvin's Kidney	Mary-Ellen Field	Belvoir Theatre Company, Sydney
2018	A Cheery Soul	Miss Docker	Sydney Opera House with STC	[11]
	The Children	Rose	Southbank Theatre, Melbourne, Sydney Opera House with MTC / STC	[3]
2023	Women of Troy	Hecuba	Theatre Royal, Hobart with Archipelago Productions
	Switzerland	Patricia Highsmith	ABS Waterfront, Auckland	[12]
2025	Song of First Desire	Camelia / Margarita	Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney

Close

As director

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
1984	Top Girls	Director	Theatre Corporate, Auckland
	Wednesday to Come	Director
1986	The Trojan Women	Director	Auckland Domain with Public Works
1987	Squatter	Director	Mercury Theatre, Auckland
	Les Liaisons Dangereuses	Director
1989	Mrs Klein	Director
1991	A Delicate Balance	Director	Playhouse, Adelaide with STCSA
1994	Someone Who'll Watch Over Me	Director	Herald Theatre, Auckland with ATC
1995	Dancing at Lughnasa	Director
1997	Master Class	Director
2003	A Doll's House	Director	UNITEC Theatre, Auckland
2004	The Bach	Director	Herald Theatre, Auckland with ATC

Close

^[13][14]