| Birth name | Pamela June Koropatnick |
|---|---|
| Birth date | 30 April 1959 (age 67) |
| Birth place | Oakville, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Actress, director |
| Years active | 1978–present (film, theatre & television) |
| Notable works | Sirens (1994) Così (1996) Paradise Road (1997) The Well (1997) Wentworth (TV 2014-21) |
| Spouse | Roger Hodgman (m. 1984) |
| Awards | AACTA Award — The Well AACTA Award — Wentworth See all awards |
Pamela Rabe (born Pamela June Koropatnick; 30 April 1959) is a Canadian and Australian actress and theatre director. A graduate of the Playhouse Acting School in Vancouver, Rabe is best known for her appearances in the Australian films Sirens, Cosi and Paradise Road, and for starring as Joan Ferguson in the television drama series Wentworth.
Early life
Rabe was born in Oakville, Ontario, Canada in 1959. The seventh of eight children, she graduated from the Playhouse Acting School in Vancouver.[1] Rabe relocated to Australia in 1983 with Australian director, Roger Hodgman.[2] They were married in 1984.[citation needed]
Career
Theatre
Rabe is a prolific contributor to theatrical life in her adopted country in acting and directing, across a wide range of genres - musicals, comedy and drama. She is a long-standing collaborator with the Sydney Theatre Company and the Melbourne Theatre Company. Rabe was once described by Melbourne theatre critic Alison Croggon as having the sort of presence that "makes shy people swallow hard and lesser mortals involuntarily bow".[3]
Some of her other high-profile acting roles include Amanda Wingfield in Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie at Belvoir, for which she won a Helpmann Award, Nora Boyle in Patrick White's The Season at Sarsaparilla, for which she won a Green Room Award for Best Actress,[4] Richard III in the Sydney Theatre Company production of The War Of The Roses, which co-starred Cate Blanchett as Richard II.[5][6] and Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil in Les Liaisons Dangereuses alongside Hugo Weaving.
In 2005, she performed an experimental play called Woman-Bomb,[7] in which she inhabited the body and mind of a suicide bomber.
In 2010, she starred in the Melbourne stage production of David Mamet's play Boston Marriage.[8]
In 2012, Rabe received a Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Musical for her performance in Grey Gardens for The Production Company. In July 2015, she won a second Helpmann Award, this time for Best Female Actor in a Play, for her performance in The Glass Menagerie.
In late 2017, Rabe played the roles of Helene Alving in Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts for Sydney's Belvoir St Theatre, Mrs. Higgins in the Julie Andrews-directed revival of My Fair Lady (replacing Robyn Nevin), and the role of Mary in Colm Tóibín's The Testament of Mary, at the Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne. In 2018, she starred in Lucy Kirkwood's The Children at the Melbourne Theatre Company.[9]
Rabe turned her hand to theatre directing in 2009, and has directed several high-profile plays for Australian theatre companies, including the Australian premiere of In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play), and Elling for the Melbourne Theatre Company. Rabe was nominated for a Green Room Award for best direction on both occasions. In 2012, Rabe was invited to be a member of the guest triumvirate who programmed the Melbourne Theatre Company season for that year.[10][11]
Rabe would have returned to theatre in 2020 for the play Monster,[12] but the performances were put on hold due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions; it was finally announced that Monster would go ahead in 2022 but Rabe would withdraw from the play and the role went to Alison Whyte.
Rabe also performed a vocal performance of Shakespeare works in 2021 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.[citation needed]
In 2023 Rabe joined the international tour of The Confessions.[13]
On 11 September 2024, Rabe was announced as part of the Melbourne Theatre Co season to appear in Rebecca directed by Anne-Louise Sarks.[14] On 1 November 2024, it was announced that Rabe would join Bert La Bonté for the 2025 Black Swan Theatre Company production of August: Osage County.[15] On 20 January 2025, it was announced that Rabe and Tamsin Carroll won the award for Best Performance in a Leading Role for August: Osage County.[16]
In 2025, Rabe co-directed and starred in the Sydney Theatre Co production of Samuel Beckett's Happy Days.[17]
Film
In 1989, Rabe made her film debut with a minor role in Against the Innocent. Her second role came in 1993 when she was cast in John Duigan's romantic comedy Sirens (with Hugh Grant and Sam Neill). Rabe's first leading role was in the 1995 film Vacant Possession. Following this, she appeared in 1996's Cosi (with Ben Mendelsohn, Barry Otto, and Toni Collette), Lust and Revenge (directed by Paul Cox).
In 1997, she appeared in Paradise Road (starring Glenn Close and set during World War II) as well as playing Hester in The Well (an adaptation of Elizabeth Jolley's novel of the same name), for which she received an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress.[1] More recently, she appeared in the Jasmila Žbanić film For Those Who Can Tell No Tales, and narrated the film Symphony of the Wild.
Television
Rabe's Australian television credits include an early guest role on the soap opera A Country Practice, recurring roles on the family series Ocean Girl and The Secret Life of Us, and a lead role in the short lived series Mercury.
In September 2013, it was announced that Rabe would join the cast of the Australian prison drama series Wentworth, a reimagining of the classic Network Ten soap opera Prisoner. She joined Wentworth in Season Two as sadistic prison governor Joan "The Freak" Ferguson, a role originally played by Maggie Kirkpatrick in Prisoner. Her character was initially killed off at the end of the fifth season, when she is buried alive by Will Jackson (Robbie Magasiva), and she made her then final appearances in two episodes of the sixth season as a figment of Will's imagination. The seventh season of Wentworth was intended to be the last, however, it was once again renewed and the ending of season seven was rewritten to include Joan, who is revealed to be alive. Rabe reprised her role for the 20-episode eighth and final season, which aired its first part in 2020, while the final part was aired in 2021. Rabe has been nominated for multiple awards for her performance, winning the 2015 AACTA Award for Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama and the 2018 Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress.
In 2017, Rabe played the role of Maude in the six-part TV series Fucking Adelaide, which premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival in October 2017.[18][19]
In 2018 Rabe would guest appear in Wentworth in Series 6, film mini series The Hunting and continue performing in theatre.
In 2022 Rabe joined the cast of Amazon comedy series Deadloch. Rabe would also join the first series of ABC drama Bay of Fires.[20][21]
Other work
Rabe served on the board of the Australian Film Institute from 1999–2002[22] and is a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Dramatic Art. Rabe serves on the board of the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne.[23]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Against the Innocent | American Woman | |
| 1993 | Sirens | Rose Lindsay | |
| 1995 | Vacant Possession | Tessa | |
| 1996 | Così | Ruth | |
| Lust and Revenge | Obnoxious Woman | ||
| 1997 | Paradise Road | Mrs. Tippler | |
| The Well | Hester | ||
| 2004 | The Boy Who Feeds Cats | Narrator | Voice; short film |
| 2013 | For Those Who Can Tell No Tales | Mum | |
| 2015 | Symphony of the Wild | Narrator | Voice |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | A Single Life | Margaret Bennett | Television film |
| 1987 | Nancy Wake | Madeleine | Miniseries |
| 1990 | A Country Practice | Marnie Rose | Season 10 - "My Sister's Keeper" (Parts 1 & 2) |
| 1993 | Seven Deadly Sins | Greed | Miniseries |
| 1995 | Ocean Girl | Commander Byrne | Recurring role; season 2 - 10 episodes |
| 1996 | Mercury | Claire Bannister | Leading role; season 1 - 13 episodes |
| The Bite | Samira Nazib | Miniseries | |
| 1997 | Frontier | Rosa Campbell Praed | Miniseries |
| 2001 | Stingers | Eve Reisner | Episode: "True Colours" |
| 2003 | The Secret Life of Us | Luciana | Recurring role; season 3 - 9 episodes |
| CrashBurn | Andy | Episode: "Seven Letters or Less" | |
| 2005 | Holly's Heroes | Mrs. Rocacelli | 3 episodes |
| 2014–2021 | Wentworth | Joan Ferguson | Leading role Seasons 2–5, 8 Special guest role Season 6−7 |
| 2017 | Fucking Adelaide | Maude | All 6 episodes |
| 2019 | The Hunting | Principal De Rossi | Miniseries |
| 2021 | Rosehaven | Margaret | Season 5 |
| 2023 | Deadloch | Margaret Carruthers | 6 episodes |
| 2023–25 | Bay of Fires | Magda | ABC TV series: 14 episodes |
Presenting
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Wentworth Unlocked | Self-host | TV special | [24] |
Stage (selected credits)
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The Bacchae | Theban Woman | ||
| 1979 | All's Well That Ends Well | Helen | ||
| 1980 | The Red Devil Battery Sign | Helena | ||
| 1980-81 | The Man Who Came To Dinner | Mrs Dexter | ||
| 1981 | The Notebook of Trigorin | Cook | Understudy | |
| Wings | Nurse | |||
| 1982 | See How They Run | Lady Montague | ||
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | Helena | |||
| See How They Run | Ida | |||
| 1981-82 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Fleur-de-lys | ||
| 1983 | The Winter's Tale | Emillia | ||
| 1983-84 | 84 Charing Cross Road | Margot | ||
| 1983 | The Maid's Target | Aspatia | ||
| 2007 | The Art of War | Crystal | Sydney Theatre Company | |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | ||||
| 2008 | Gallipoli | |||
| The Serpent's Teeth | Catherine Pavic | |||
| 2009 | The War of the Roses | Richard III | ||
| God of Carnage | Veronique Vallon | Melbourne Theatre Company | ||
| 2010 | Boston Marriage | Anna | ||
| Do Not Go Gentle | Bowers | FortyFive Downstairs | ||
| 2011 | Hamlet | Gertrude | Melbourne Theatre Company | |
| Grey Gardens | Little Edie | The Production Company | ||
| 2012 | Les Liaisons Dangereuses | Marquise de Merteuil | Sydney Theatre Company | |
| 2013 | The Cherry Orchard | Ranevskaya | Melbourne Theatre Company | |
| 2014 | The Glass Menagerie | Amanda | Belvoir | |
| 2015 | Footfalls | May | State Theatre of South Australia | |
| 2016 | The Glass Menagerie | Amanda | Belvoir/Malthouse | |
| 2017 | Ghosts | Helene Alving | Belvoir | |
| My Fair Lady | Mrs Higgins | Gordon Frost Organization | ||
| Testament of Mary | Mary | Malthouse Theatre | ||
| 2018 | The Children | Hazel | Melbourne Theatre Company | |
| Dance of Death | Alice | Belvoir | ||
| 2019 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Big Mama | Sydney Theatre Company | |
| 2021 | The Last Season | Summer | Force Majeure | |
| The Cherry Orchard | Ranevskaya | Belvoir | [25] | |
| 2023 | The Confessions | Peg | International Tour | [26] |
| 2024 | Seventeen | Jess | Melbourne Theatre Company | |
| Ride the Cyclone | The Amazing Karnak (voice) | Hayes Theatre Co | [27] | |
| 2024-2025 | August: Osage County | Violet Weston | Belvoir & Black Swan Theatre Co (co production) | [28] |
| 2025 | Happy Days | Winnie | Sydney Theatre Company (also director) | [29] |
| Rebecca | Mrs Danvers | Melbourne Theatre Company | [30] | |
| 2026 | Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead | Mrs Duszejko | Belvoir | [31] |
| Doubt: A Parable | Sister Aloysius | Sydney Theatre Company | [32] |
Honours
Rabe was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2023 King's Birthday Honours for "significant service to the performing arts as a performer and director".[33]
Awards and nominations
References
- ^ "Pamela Rabe". 16th Street. Archived from the original on 23 February 2011.
- ^ Johnson, Helen (5 November 2017). "Wentworth's Joan 'The Freak' Ferguson actress Pamela Rabe stars as Jesus' mother in solo show". Herald-Sun. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- ^ "Theatre Notes". August 2004.
- ^ "Sarsaparilla steals the Melbourne Limelight". Sydney Morning Herald. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
- ^ "Richard III, thy name is woman". Sydney Morning Herald. 5 January 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
- ^ Lalak, Alex (19 January 2009). "Review: The War Of The Roses, starring Cate Blanchett". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
- ^ "Womb with a view". The Age. 28 June 2005. Archived 5 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Croggon, Alison (11 June 2010). "Pamela Rabe on a roll as a woman behaving badly". The Australian. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
- ^ "Sarah Peirse in MTC's the Children, a nightmare vision of the 'quake' to come". 18 January 2018.
- ^ "Melbourne Theatre Company announces 2012 Season" at www.australianstage.com.au
- ^ "Multi-layered Rabe mixes it on Melbourne stage" by Robin Usher at www.smh.com.au
- ^ Wild, Stephi. "Malthouse Theatre Announces Part 2 Of Its 2022 Season Featuring Three New Australian Works". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
- ^ Akbar, Arifa (24 October 2023). "The Confessions review – dazzling drama drawn from a mother's memories". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ Staff Writer. "Rebecca". www.mtc.com.au. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
- ^ Theatre, Aussie (2024-11-01). "PAMELA RABE and BERT LABONTÉ will join the cast of the Perth season of August: Osage County". AussieTheatre.com. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
- ^ "2024 Sydney Theatre Awards: The Winners". Limelight. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
- ^ "Happy Days". Sydney Theatre Company. May 2025. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
- ^ Daniela Frangos (2 October 2017). "Fucking Adelaide to Premiere at Adelaide Film Festival". Broadsheet Adelaide. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ^ "Fucking Adelaide". IMDB. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ^ "More cast join Bay of Fires for ABC | TV Tonight". tvtonight.com.au. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
- ^ Frater, Patrick (2022-02-20). "Amazon Starts Production of 'Deadloch' Comedy Series in Australia (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
- ^ "National Institute of Dramatic Art". 2010. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
- ^ Malthouse Theatre - Our Team
- ^ Knox, David (5 August 2021). "Airdate: Wentworth Unlocked". TV Tonight. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ Boon, Maxim (2021-06-07). "Bevloir's take on Chekov great 'The Cherry Orchard' is Absolutely Fabulous". Time Out Sydney. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
- ^ "The Confessions by Alexander Zeldin To Play A Limited Run at The National Theatre as Part of International Collaboration". 2023-09-19. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
- ^ Theatre, Aussie (2024-05-08). "Pamela Rabe Joins The Cast of Ride the Cyclone". AussieTheatre.com. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
- ^ Staff Writer (2023-09-04). "Sri Lankan Australian epic family saga to return to Australian stage following hit UK tour". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
- ^ Staff Writer (4 September 2024). "Sydney Theatre Co production 2025 Happy Days". sydneytheatreco. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
- ^ Smyrk, Katherine (13 October 2025). "Rebecca was a novel, a Hitchcock classic, and now a thriller on stage". ABC News. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
- ^ Jefferson, Dee (2025-09-08). "Belvoir St theatre’s 2026 season to be headlined by 24-year-old debut playwright". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-09-08.
- ^ "Doubt: A Parable". www.sydneytheatre.com.au. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
- ^ "Ms Pamela Rabe". Australian Honours Search Facility. 2023-06-12. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
- ^ "Promptings". The Age. 27 February 1988. p. 9.
- ^ "Playbox tops stage awards". The Age. 18 February 1993. p. 14.
- ^ "MO Award Winners". Mo Awards. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ Review, Arts (2025-01-21). "2024 Sydney Theatre Award Winners Announced". Australian Arts Review. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
Further reading
- Pamela Rabe in Melbourne Magazine, 30 July 2010
- A Woman of Substance, The Age, 23 April 1994
External links
- Pamela Rabe at IMDb
- Pamela-Rabe.com (fan site)