Ngaire Pigram (born ) is an Aboriginal Australian singer, dancer, actor, screenwriter, and director[ from Western Australia. She has worked on stage and in film and television. She is perhaps best known for her role as Leonie in season two of Mystery Road, and as Grace in the 2022 feature film Sweet As.
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Early life and education
Ngaire Pirgram was born in Broome, Western Australia in , the daughter of Stephen Pigram.
After attaining a Certificate IV in Aboriginal Theatre at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Broome, Pigram was accepted into the three-year diploma course at WAAPA, and in 2004 moved to Perth to pursue further studies in acting.[
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Career
Film and television
Pigram played Debbie in the short film Broken Bonds, directed by Ashley Sillifant in the first of the ABC's Deadly Yarns anthology series.[ and she performed as a dancer in Jimmy Chi's film 2009 Bran Nue Dae, a film version of the stage musical.][ In 2011 Pigram played Nella, single mother of 15-year-old Bullet, in Brendan Fletcher's drama film Mad Bastards,][
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In 2013 she was given the opportunity by Screenwest[ to write and direct a short film, Dark Whispers, which was produced by Kelrick Martin.][
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In 2020 she played Leonie, sister of the local police officer Fran, in the second series of Mystery Road.
In September 2020, Pigram was selected as one of eight participants in a new writing and directing initiative organised by WA Indigenous production companies Pink Pepper and Ramu Productions, along with and New Zealand company Brown Sugar Apple Grunt, called the RED project. The project consisted of development workshops enabling each participant to write and direct a 10-minute short film, which would be part of a single anthology 80-minute feature film (working title RED) consisting of stories from a female Aboriginal perspective. The other participants were Kodie Bedford, Debbie Carmody, Kelli Cross, Karla Hart, Chantelle Murray, Jub Clerc, and Mitch Torres.
She played the character Grace in Jub Clerc's debut feature Sweet As in 2022.[
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Other screen appearances include as Mrs Marker in an episode of The Circuit (2009);[ a guest role as Maggie in The Heights (2019);][ Kitty in Firebite; (2021)][ and a number of short films.][
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Stage
Pigram played Kay in The Sapphires in 2011 with the Belvoir Theatre in Sydney, which toured to London,
She worked in theatre between 2015 and 2018, performing in Marrugeku's Cut The Sky. The play, which shone an Indigenous perspective on climate change,[ toured around the world during those three years.]
She played Aunty Theresa in a 2020 revival of the stage production of Bran Nue Dae.
Recognition and awards
For her performance in the second series of Mystery Road she was nominated for the 2020 AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actress in a Television Drama.
Personal life
Pigram has two children, whom she raised as a single mother.[
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Filmography
Film
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| Short film |
| Short film |
| Short film |
| Feature film |
| Feature film |
| Short film |
| Short film |
| Short film |
| Feature film |
| Feature film |
Television
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| 1 episode |
| TV short |
| 1 episode |
| 1 episode |
| Season 2, 6 episodes |
| 7 episodes |
As writer / director
Stage
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| Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney & Barbican Centre |
| Regal Theatre, Perth, WA regional tour, Theater im Pfalzbau, Ludwigshafen, Germany, Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, Koninklijke Vlaamse Schouwburg, Brussels, Sydney Opera House, Arts House Meat Market, Melbourne, Tjibaou Cultural Centre, Nouméa, New Caledonia, Alexander Kasser Theater, New Jersey, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto with Marrugeku Company |
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| Riverside Theatres Parramatta, Regal Theatre, Perth |
External links
