# Simon Prast
**Simon Prast** (born 1962) is a New Zealand actor, director and theater administrator who founded [Auckland Theatre Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/auckland-theatre-company) in 1992 and ran it as its founding Artistic Director for eleven years, alongside a screen career spanning the soap *Gloss*, the slasher films *X* and *[MaXXXine](https://www.edgepedia.org/maxxxine)*, and a long list of Auckland stage roles.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962, Auckland[1](https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22365977) |
| Education | Law degree, University of Auckland; Theatre Corporate drama school, graduating 1984[1](https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22365977) • [2](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/simon-prast/) |
| Auckland Theatre Company | Founder and founding Artistic Director, March 1992 – February 2003; produced or directed sixty main-bill productions in his tenure[1](https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22365977) • [3](https://cms.atc.co.nz/media/00clhxaw/881022-the-pillowman-programme-2_6.pdf) |
| Auckland Festival | Director of AK03, the inaugural Auckland Festival (2003)[4](https://aucklandactors.co.nz/actors/simon-prast/) |
| Best-known screen roles | Alistair Redfern on *Gloss* (1987–89); Stephen in *When Love Comes* (1998); Ernest Miller in *MaXXXine* (2024)[2](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/simon-prast/) |
| Other public life | Unsuccessful Auckland mayoral candidate, 2010[1](https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22365977) |
## Founding and leading Auckland Theatre Company
Prast grew up in the Auckland suburb of Mount Roskill near the Manukau Harbour, studied law at the [University of Auckland](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-auckland), and then trained at Auckland's Theatre Corporate drama school, graduating in 1984[2](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/simon-prast/). In 1992, Auckland's largest professional theater company, the Mercury Theatre, closed, and the professional-theater scene in the city collapsed with it[5](https://www.atc.co.nz/about-us/about-auckland-theatre-company). Prast, by then an experienced stage and screen actor, responded by founding the Auckland Theatre Company in 1992 to restore a full-time professional theater to the city[4](https://aucklandactors.co.nz/actors/simon-prast/) • [1](https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22365977).
The company's first production opened at the Watershed Theatre in 1993: the world premiere of David Geary's *Lovelock's Dream Run*, directed by Raymond Hawthorne[5](https://www.atc.co.nz/about-us/about-auckland-theatre-company). Over the next decade, Auckland Theatre Company performed at venues across the city and established itself as Auckland's full-time resident professional company[5](https://www.atc.co.nz/about-us/about-auckland-theatre-company) • [3](https://cms.atc.co.nz/media/00clhxaw/881022-the-pillowman-programme-2_6.pdf). During his eleven-year tenure Prast produced and, or, directed sixty main-bill productions, including a first season of two New Zealand plays and, in 1994, the company's first international work, [Tony Kushner](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-kushner)'s *Angels in America*[3](https://cms.atc.co.nz/media/00clhxaw/881022-the-pillowman-programme-2_6.pdf).
His own directorial debut with the company came in 1998 with Reginald Rose's *12 Angry Men*[6](https://www.theatreview.org.nz/production/backstage-pass-stories-from-thirty-years-of-the-auckland-theatre-company/). His directing credits there went on to include *The Rocky Horror Show*, *A Streetcar Named Desire*, *W;t*, *Art*, *Closer* and *Death of a Salesman*[7](https://archive.atc.co.nz/media/1587/in083-booklet.pdf).
After leaving the company, Prast turned to directing the first Auckland Festival, AK03, in 2003[4](https://aucklandactors.co.nz/actors/simon-prast/) • [1](https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22365977). In June 2010 he entered the race for Mayor of Auckland as one of the challengers to the frontrunners John Banks and Len Brown; he was unsuccessful[1](https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22365977) • [8](https://www.pridenz.com/gaynz/9113.html). In recent years he has directed productions at the PumpHouse Theatre in Takapuna, including Tadpole Productions' *Taking Off* and *The Queen's Nanny*[9](https://pumphouse.co.nz/about/blog/2026/2026-agm/).
## Acting career
Prast's screen breakthrough was one of his earliest roles: Alistair Redfern, the spoilt rich kid on the hit TVNZ soap *Gloss*, in which his character endured a tumultuous marriage to Gemma, played by Miranda Harcourt[2](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/simon-prast/). He made his television debut on the cop drama *Mortimer's Patch* and later played a psychopath on *Shortland Street*[10](https://www.nzonscreen.com/interviews/simon-prast-from-playing-the-son-to-playing-the-father/). His biggest film role was Stephen, a gay man, in Garth Maxwell's 1998 film *When Love Comes*; Maxwell described him as "subtle, compassionate and funny" and someone who "wouldn't pull back from something—he'd push it further"[2](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/simon-prast/). Later television work has included recurring roles in *Go Girls* and *The Gulf*, and series appearances in *Filthy Rich*, *[Under the Vines](https://www.edgepedia.org/under-the-vines)* and *[The New Legends of Monkey](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-legends-of-monkey)*[4](https://aucklandactors.co.nz/actors/simon-prast/).
Internationally, he appeared in [Ti West](https://www.edgepedia.org/ti-west)'s horror films *X* (2022), as the Televangelist, and *MaXXXine* (2024), as Ernest Miller[2](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/simon-prast/). On stage, his roles have included Trigorin in *The Seagull* (1994), the company's era at Auckland Theatre Company, Brick Pollitt in *Cat on a Hot Tin Roof*, Claudius in *Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead* (2019), and [Atticus Finch](https://www.edgepedia.org/atticus-finch) in Colin McColl's 2016 Auckland Theatre Company production of *To Kill a Mockingbird*, a role he linked to racial prejudice in contemporary Auckland[4](https://aucklandactors.co.nz/actors/simon-prast/) • [11](https://gayexpress.co.nz/2016/04/60189/).
## References
1. [Prast, Simon, 1962–, National Library of New Zealand](https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22365977)
2. [Simon Prast, NZ On Screen](https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/simon-prast/)
3. [Auckland Theatre Company 15th Year Anniversary programme, The Pillowman](https://cms.atc.co.nz/media/00clhxaw/881022-the-pillowman-programme-2_6.pdf)
4. [Simon Prast, Auckland Actors](https://aucklandactors.co.nz/actors/simon-prast/)
5. [About Auckland Theatre Company](https://www.atc.co.nz/about-us/about-auckland-theatre-company)
6. [Backstage Pass: Stories from Thirty Years of the Auckland Theatre Company, Theatreview review](https://www.theatreview.org.nz/production/backstage-pass-stories-from-thirty-years-of-the-auckland-theatre-company/)
7. [Auckland Theatre Company programme, Caligula](https://archive.atc.co.nz/media/1587/in083-booklet.pdf)
8. [Candidate watch: Simon Prast, GayNZ.com (archived)](https://www.pridenz.com/gaynz/9113.html)
9. [Recap of our 2026 AGM, The PumpHouse Theatre](https://pumphouse.co.nz/about/blog/2026/2026-agm/)
10. [Simon Prast: from playing the son to playing the father, NZ On Screen](https://www.nzonscreen.com/interviews/simon-prast-from-playing-the-son-to-playing-the-father/)
11. [Judgements on Injustice: To Kill a Mockingbird, YOUR EX](https://gayexpress.co.nz/2016/04/60189/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Companies, venues, and stage institutions › Theater companies and ensembles › Companies of Asia, Africa, and Oceania › Theater companies of New Zealand and the Pacific Islands*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license