Sally Stockwell

Actor, singer-songwriter & theatre-maker

“ Exceptional, transcendent, theatre of the highest calibre. One of the best shows I’ve ever seen.” (‘We’ve Got So Much To Talk About’) – Art Murmers

Sally Stockwell is a performance artist working across theatre, film, television, and music. Her practice spans acting, music, and interdisciplinary performance.

She graduated from Toi Whakaari / New Zealand Drama School in 1995 and holds a Performance Diploma with Pantheatre (France), specialising in voice and choreographic theatre. Further study in London, France (National Theatre Studio, Philippe Gaulier, Roy Hart Voicework), and Aotearoa New Zealand has continued to shape her approach to voice, performance, and storytelling.

Across more than three decades, Sally has performed with companies including Circa Theatre, Downstage, Auckland Theatre Company, Silo Theatre, Court Theatre, Centrepoint Theatre, and Red Leap Theatre (touring company member). Her theatre and screen work has been recognised with nominations and awards from the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards and the New Zealand Screen Awards.

Her critically acclaimed original theatre works - including We’ve Got So Much To Talk About, Firefly, and Gravity Hotel - reflect a long-standing interest in hybrid performance that blends music, movement, and text. She draws on her solo music and performance skills to perform live songs, creating rich sonic and visual worlds through live musicianship, vocal layering, sound design, and theatrical image-making.

Sally has performed her original music and interdisciplinary works at festivals including Splore, Auckland Arts Festival, Titirangi Festival of Music, TAHI Festival, Tiny Fest, and Taranaki Arts Festival.

Released nearly a decade apart, Weightless (2015) and Little Triggers (2024) map two defining chapters in her life - the first shaped by the death of her brother, the second by becoming a mother.

In addition to her music practice, Sally has over a decade of professional experience working across theatre and screen in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally.

Sally is also an experienced voice teacher, working across private students, workshops, choirs, and world choirs. She has taught at many institutions, including the University of Auckland, Unitec, The Actors’ Program, and the University of Canterbury, and runs workshops and private coaching in Christchurch.

She is based in Ōtautahi / Christchurch.

“I never got to see Patti Smith but I saw Sally Stockwell” - Katie Wolfe, theatre/film/TV director, 2022