Christina’s ancestors came from Scotland, Ireland, Prussia, Poland and England. They arrived between 1841 and 1916. These Catholics, Anglicans and Methodists settled on the West Coast, Nelson, Taranaki and Auckland.
After acting out the saints and martyrs at primary school, Christina found heaven on earth in a converted billiard saloon, The Cue Theatre in Inglewood, Taranaki. Upon leaving this rugby-mad small town, she experienced culture-shock amongst the polite middle classes at the University of Canterbury. This experience started her thinking about novels and plays as social and cultural guide books as much as stories. Later, she completed a MA and PhD exploring ethnicity, gender, sex and violence in New Zealand theatre and fiction. Her book, Reading Pakeha: Fiction & Identity in Aotearoa New Zealand (2004), was published in New York and Amsterdam by Rodopi.
EQ F@#%ING C is Christina’s seventh play, the others being Hot Stuff (Riccarton Players, Queenstown Shakespeare Trust, New Plymouth’s Little Theatre); Domestic Blitz (Pavlova Productions, Downstage’s Adam Play Reading Series, Gore’s Little Theatre); SKOOL! (Playmarket rehearsed reading, Riccarton Players and Marton Players Theatre); Love Babe (Northland Youth Theatre, Kaikoura High School); Pitcairn (Auckland Theatre Company’s Next Stage) and PINK (Riccarton Players, Rotorua Breast Cancer Trust’s fundraising rehearsed reading). With Anna Mowat, she edited Monologues from New Zealand Plays - Female and the companion collection for males (both including transgender pieces), published by Playmarket.
Christina teaches and researches Modern Drama and Creative Writing at the University of Canterbury.
EQC CLM/2010/024553, CLM/2011/038075EQ & IAG CD0314178 – still fighting . . .