Jacob Rajan - Writer and Performer

Jacob has a BSc in Microbiology and a Diploma in Primary Teaching. A graduate of Toi Whakaari: The New Zealand Drama School, Jacob has also investigated contemporary and traditional theatre forms in India. He was both Musical Director and performer in Theatre At Large’s Cyrano de Bergerac, which premiered in Auckland and went on to be performed a t the 1996 new Zealand International Festival of the Arts, at the Perth Festival and in Adelaide. Other stage credits include The Tempest, The Revenger’s Tragedy, Vampyre Dances, Hamlet and Beauty and the Beast in the 1998 NZ International Festival. His television credits include Cover Story, Shortland Street, Fish Skin Suit, The Insider’s Guide to Happiness and Outrageous Fortune.

At the 1999 Edinburgh Festival, he was nominated for The Stage Award for Acting Excellence for Krishnan’s Dairy. In 2002 his performance as Jojo in The Pickle King earned him an Accolade Award at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards. In that same year Jacob was made an Arts Laureate by the New Zealand Arts Foundation.