Alison Quigan

Born and bred in Palmerston North, Alison began her acting training at Auckland's Corporate Theatre in 1978 under the tutorship of Raymond Hawthorne, Elizabeth McRae and Ilona Rogers.

Alison has worked as an actor in Auckland, Palmerston North and Christchurch and in November 1986 she was appointed Artistic Director of Centrepoint Theatre in Palmerston North, a role she held until 2004. She led Centrepoint Theatre as Artistic Director, and also worked as a Director, Actor and as a Writer.

While at Centrepoint she wrote eleven plays, six with Ross Gumbley (Five Go Barmy in Palmy, Biggles on Top, The Boys at the Beach, Shop Till you Drop, The Newbury Hall Dances, and The Big OE), and two with Lucy Schmidt (Sisters and Netballers).

Alison also wrote three plays of her own including The School Ball, Mum's Choir and Girls Weekend Escape. Her plays have been performed around the country and recently Mum's Choir was performed in Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and now Dunedin. Flagons and Foxtrots, a play she wrote with Ross Gumbley in 1999 under the name of The Newbury Hall Dances was performed at the Court Theatre in Christchurch throughout September and October of 2006.

Alison has the distinguished honour of being New Zealand's second most popular playwright after Roger Hall.

In 2005 she began the role of Yvonne Jeffries on Shortland Street. Yvonne is a mother of three, a role Alison is very familiar with having two children of her own - Sarah and Freddie. Alison is married to Bruce Graham, a theatre designer.