Helen Morse

Helen Morse (born 24 January 1947) is an English-born Australian actress who has appeared in films, on television and on stage.^[1] She won the AFI Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the 1976 film Caddie, and starred in the 1981 miniseries A Town Like Alice. Her other film appearances include Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Agatha (1979), Far East (1982) and The Eye of the Storm (2011).

Helen Morse
Born	(1947-01-24) 24 January 1947 (age 78) Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex, England
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1965–present

Early life and education

Morse was born in Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex, England, in 1947. She was the oldest of four children; her parents were a doctor and nurse.^[2] She moved to Australia in 1950 with her family.^[3] She attended school at Presbyterian Ladies' College in Burwood, Victoria, and graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1965,^[3] and trained with Brian Syron in Sydney.

Career

Film & Television

Morse won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the 1976 film Caddie. Her notable screen performances also include roles in the film Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) and the television miniseries A Town Like Alice.

Morse had roles on many television productions, including three episodes of The Doctor Blake Mysteries in 2014 (Series 2), 2015 (Series 3), and 2016 (Series 4).

Theatre

Since her early work with Jim Sharman in the 1960s and 70s – A Taste of Honey, Terror Australis, As You Like It,^[4] Morse has worked in over ninety theatre productions.

Morse has worked with many companies including Melbourne Theatre Company, Ensemble Theatre, The Independent, Nimrod Theatre Company, Marian Street Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company, Hunter Valley Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre Company, Harvest Theatre Company (South Australia) and the State Theatre Company of South Australia.

In 2002 and again in 2008, Morse played the role of Theodora Goodman in Adam Cook's adaptation of Patrick White's The Aunt's Story.^[5] Her 2004 performance as Nancy in Bryony Lavery's Frozen for the Melbourne Theatre Company earned her a Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Play nomination. She has since been nominated for productions of John by Annie Baker (Melbourne Theatre Company), and Memorial by Alice Oswald (Brink Productions). In 2020, she won a Green Room Award for her performance in 33 Variations by Moisés Kaufman (Cameron Lukey and Neil Gooding Productions).

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Type
1968	The Return of the Boomerang		Film short
1970	Adam's Woman	Maggie	Feature film
1974	Petersen	Jane / Charles' mistress	Feature film
1974	Stone	Amanda	Feature film
1975	Picnic at Hanging Rock	Mlle. de Poitiers	Feature film
1976	Caddie	Caddie Marsh	Feature film
1978	Tapak Dewata Java		Film short
1979	Agatha	Evelyn	Feature film
1979	The First Christmas	Voice	Film short
1982	Far East	Jo Reeves	Feature film
1984	Iris (aka Out of Time)	Iris / Sammie	Feature film
1997	The Bridge		Film short
2000	Lost	Mrs. Harris	Film short
2011	The Eye of the Storm	Lotte	Feature film
2015	Downriver	Mary	Feature film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Type
1966	Twelfth Night	Olivia	Teleplay
1966	The Runaway	Jenny	Teleplay
1966; 1967	Australian Playhouse	Beatrice / Patty Hutton	TV series, 2 episodes: "No Dogs On Diamond Street" / "Sailor's Trousers"
1967	The Queen's Bishop		Teleplay
1967–72	Homicide	Stella Lee / Joanne Edwards / Pamela Chandler	TV series, 3 episodes
1967	You Can't See 'Round Corners	Karen	TV series, 1 episode
1967	Contrabandits	Angela Carrol	TV series, 1 episode
1968	The Great Barrier Reef	Narrator	Film documentary
1968	This Day Tonight	Herself on stage set 'Terra Australis' with Garry McDonald & Peter Rowley	ABC TV series, 1 episode
1969	Love and War – Intersection		Teleplay
1969–74	Division 4	Mrs. Kirby / Angela Hughes / Penny Horton / Christine Marriott / Tina Findlay / Angela McGregor	TV series, 6 episodes
1969	Riptide	Joanna Decker	TV series, 1 episode
1969	The Pressure Pak Show	Guest	TV series, 1 episode
1970	A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court	Voice	Animated TV movie
1970	Barrier Reef	Joan Norris	TV series, 1 episode
1971	The Legend Of Robin Hood	Voice	Animated TV movie
1971	Spyforce	Joan / Nurse	TV series, 2 episodes: "The Escape"
1972	The Spoiler		TV series, 1 episode
1972	Travels of Marco Polo	Princess Cocacin (voice)	Animated TV movie
1972	Crisis	Margie	TV pilot
1972	The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui	Dockdaisy	Teleplay
1972	Matlock Police	Susan Williams	TV series, 1 episode
1972	Quartet		TV series, 1 episode: "The Last Great Journey"
1972	The Kenneth Connor Show	Various characters	TV series, 4 episodes
1973; 1974	Ryan	Shirley Green / Goldie Taylor	TV series, 2 episodes
1974	Things that Go Bump in the Night	Kalie Ingham	TV series, 1 episode
1974	Marion	Marion Richards	TV miniseries, 4 episodes
1974	This Love Affair		TV series, 1 episode 11: "A Family Christmas"
1974	A Touch of Reverence		TV miniseries
1975	Ivanhoe	Voice	Animated TV movie
1976	Luke's Kingdom	Kate	TV miniseries, 13 episodes
1976	Power Without Glory		TV miniseries
1976	Obsession – Kill Kaplan!		Teleplay
1979	The Sullivans		TV series
1980; 1982	The Mike Walsh Show	Guest - Herself	TV series, 1 episode
1981	A Town Like Alice	Jean Paget	TV miniseries, 3 episodes
1982	Logie Awards of 1982	Herself	TV special
1982	The Mike Walsh Show	Guest - Herself	TV series, 1 episode
1982	Silent Reach	Antonia Russell	TV miniseries, 2 episodes
1982	Parkinson in Australia	Guest (with Bryan Brown)	TV series, 1 episode
1983	Australian Movies to the World	Herself	TV special
1985	Sherlock Holmes and the Baskerville Curse	Beryl Stapleton (voice)	Animated TV movie
1985	The Adventures of Robin Hood	Maid Marion (voice)	Animated TV movie
1989	The Bert Newton Show	Herself with Bob Hornery	TV series, 1 episode
1991	In Sydney Today	Guest	TV series, 1 episode
1992	Bony	unknown	TV series, 1 episode
1993	Review	Guest presenter	TV series, 1 episode
1995; 1997	Good Morning Australia	Guest	TV series, 2 episodes
1997	Night of the Bogongs	Narrator	TV documentary
1999	Stone Forever	Herself	TV special
2000	Pozières	Herself	TV movie documentary
2002	Caddie on Location	Herself	Film documentary
2003	Love Letters from a War	Narrator	TV movie
2004	A Dream within a Dream: The Making of 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'	Herself	Film documentary
2008	The Prime Minister is Missing	Narrator	TV documentary
2010	City Homicide	Penelope McVeigh	TV series, 1 episode
2010	Mary McKillop: Soul of the Sunburnt Country	Mary McKillop (voice)	Video documentary
2012	The Mystery of a Hansom Cab	Mother Guttersnipe	TV movie
2014, 2016	The Doctor Blake Mysteries	Agnes Clasby	TV series, 3 episodes
2014	Picnic at Hanging Rock: Everything Begins and Ends	Herself	Film documentary
2016	Molly	Grandmother	TV miniseries, 2 episodes
2016	Barracuda	Margot Taylor	TV miniseries, 2 episodes

Theatre

As actor

Year	Title	Role	Venue / Company
1964	Extracts from Shakespeare	Celia in As You Like it and Jaquenetta in Love's Labour's Lost	UNSW
1964	Our Town	Mrs Gibbs	UNSW Old Tote Theatre
1964	Two Programs of One Act Plays: Love and How to Cure It	Linda	UNSW Old Tote Theatre
1964	Two Programs of Short Plays: The Chinese Wall / Hamlet	Mee Lan the Chinese princess / Ophelia	University of NSW, Old Tote Theatre
1965	Uncle Ben	Hetty	UNSW
1965	A Series of Dance Pieces: Ballad of the Drover's Wife	Dance group	UNSW
1965	Othello		UNSW Old Tote Theatre
1965	Down in the Valley / Leonard Teale & Andy Sundstrom	Jenny Parsons	UNSW Old Tote Theatre
1965	The Plough and the Stars	Bessie Burgess	UNSW Old Tote Theatre
1965	A Taste of Honey		Cell Block Theatre, Darlinghurst
1965	The Business of Good Government		Assembly Hall, Sydney
1967	The Imaginary Invalid		UNSW Old Tote Theatre
1967	A Lily In Little India		Independent Theatre
1967	The School for Scandal		UNSW Old Tote Theatre
1968	Terror Australis		Jane Street Theatre
1968	Private Lives		Hunter Theatre, The Junction, Palace Theatre, Sydney
1968	Present Laughter		Hunter Theatre, The Junction, Palace Theatre, Sydney
1969	Pygmalion		UNSW Parade Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre
1969	The Merchant of Venice		UNSW Parade Theatre
1970	The Seagull		Scott Theatre, Adelaide
1970	What the Butler Saw		Phillip Street Theatre
1971	As You Like It	Celia	UNSW Parade Theatre
1971	The Man of Mode		UNSW Parade Theatre
1971	The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui		UNSW Parade Theatre, Canberra Theatre
1971	The Dutch Courtesan		UNSW Parade Theatre
1971	The National Health or Nurse Norton's Affair		UNSW Parade Theatre
1971	Lasseter		UNSW Parade Theatre
1971	The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui		UNSW Parade Theatre
1972	Rooted		Nimrod Theatre Company
1972-73	Tom		Russell Street Theatre
1976	The Wolf	Vilma	UNSW Parade Theatre
1977	The Time Is Not Yet Ripe	Doris	Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre
1978	A Visit with the Family	Kit	Nimrod Theatre Company
1979	Rain	Sadie Thompson	Ensemble Theatre
1979	Not I	Mouth	Nimrod Theatre Company
1979	Vicki Madison Clocks Out	Vicki Madison	Nimrod Theatre Company
1980	Cyrano de Bergerac	Roxanne	Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre
1982	Duet for One	Stephanie Abrahams	His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, Playhouse Adelaide, Marian Street Theatre, Newcastle Civic Theatre, Playhouse Canberra, Theatre Royal, Hobart, Melbourne Athenaeum, Theatre Royal, Sydney
1985	Private Lives		Playhouse, Newcastle
1985	Blithe Spirit		Civic Playhouse, Newcastle
1985	Pride and Prejudice		Queensland
1986	A Happy and Holy Occasion	Brenda	Playhouse, Newcastle
1986-87	A Streetcar Named Desire	Blanche DuBois	His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, Playhouse, Melbourne, Her Majesty's Theatre Sydney
1987	Away		Shanghai
1987	Twelfth Night		Playhouse, Melbourne
1987	The Rivers of China	Katherine Mansfield	Wharf Theatre, Playhouse Melbourne
1988	Europe by Michael Gow	Barbara	Australian national tour
1988	Hedda Gabler	Hedda	Playhouse, Melbourne
1989	The Cherry Orchard	Carlotta	Playhouse, Melbourne
1989-90	The Recruiting Officer		Playhouse, Melbourne
1989-90	Our Country's Good	Lizzie Morden	Playhouse, Melbourne, Playhouse Adelaide
1989-90	Mrs Klein		Russell Street Theatre, Marian Street Theatre
1990	The Tempest	Ariel	Playhouse, Melbourne|
1990	Nothing Sacred		Playhouse, Melbourne
1990	Away	Coral	Malthouse Theatre
1991	The Crucible	Elizabeth Proctor	Playhouse, Melbourne
1991	The Marriage of Figaro		Playhouse, Melbourne
1991	On Our Selection		Playhouse, Melbourne
1992	A Midsummer Night's Dream		Playhouse Adelaide
1992	'Tis Pity She's a Whore		Playhouse, Adelaide
1992-93	Death and the Maiden		Wharf Theatre, Russell Street Theatre, Playhouse Perth, Space Theatre, Adelaide, Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company
1993	Under Milk Wood		Playhouse, Adelaide
1994	The Tin Soldier and The Paper Bag Princess	Narrator	Lyric Theatre
1995	Arcadia	Hannah	Playhouse, Melbourne, Playhouse Adelaide, Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre, Theatre Royal, Hobart, Canberra Theatre, His Majesty's Theatre, Perth
1995-96	Good Works by Nick Enright		Malthouse Theatre, Space Theatre, Adelaide, Wharf Theatre
1997	A Little Night Music		Playhouse, Melbourne, Princess Theatre Melbourne, Theatre Royal, Sydney,
1998	The Woman in the Window by Alma De Groen		Fairfax Studio, Melbourne
2000	Keene / Taylor Theatre Project		Sydney Opera House
2001	The Twilight Series	Ensemble	Collins Street Baptist Church
2001	Kaddish		Span Gallery, Melbourne with Keene/Taylor Theatre Projects
2001-02	The Aunt's Story	Theodora Goodman	Playhouse, Melbourne, Belvoir Street Theatre, Playhouse, South Bank
2003-04	Frozen	Nancy	Fairfax Studio, Melbourne, Wharf Theatre with Sydney Theatre Company / Melbourne Theatre Company Nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Play
2004	Hats Off! to Sondheim		National Theatre, Melbourne
2005	The Breath of Life		Glen Street Theatre, Tuggeranong Arts Centre, Jetty Memorial Theatre, Coffs Harbour, Ipswich Civic Hall, Sunshine Coast Events Centre, Queensland University of Technology, Dunstan Playhouse
2005	Ivanov		fortyfivedownstairs
2007	Beckett Poetry and Prose		Parade Theatre
2007	Homer's Iliad		The Stork Hotel, Melbourne
2007	The Odyssey		The Stork Hotel, Melbourne
2007	Beyond Cuisine		Fortyfivedownstairs
2008	Architektin		Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide
2008	The Aunt's Story	Theodora Goodman
2009	The Year of Magical Thinking	Joan Didion	The New Dolphin Theatre, Crawley, Albany Town Hall Theatre
2010	Duets for Lovers and Dreamers		Fortyfivedownstairs
2011	Sundowner		Phee Broadway Theatre, Castlemaine
2012	Signs of Life		Western Australia tour & Sydney Opera House
2012	The Curtain		Southbank Theatre
2013	Sundowner		National tour
2013	Brel	Singer	Space Theatre, Adelaide
2014	Once in Royal David's City		Belvoir
2016	Wit		Fortyfivedownstairs
2017	John by Annie Baker	Mertis Katherine Graven	Fairfax Studio, Melbourne with Melbourne Theatre Company Nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Play
2017	Angels in America		Fortyfivedownstairs
2018	Memorial by Alice Oswald		Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide, Playhouse, South Bank, Barbican Centre, London with Brink Productions Nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best Female Actor in a Play
2019	33 Variations	Dr Ladenburger	Comedy Theatre, Melbourne Won a Green Room Award
2020	Escaped Alone		Belvoir
2022	Escaped Alone & What If If Only	Mrs Jarrett / Fs	Southbank Theatre
	The Funniest Man in the World		Keene/Taylor Theatre Projects

As director

Year	Title	Role	Venue / Company
2000	National Playwrights Conference 2000 - The Workshop Program	Director	State Theatre Company Rehearsal Room, Scott Theatre, Adelaide

^[6]

Personal life

Morse was married from 1967 until 1976 to Australian actor and director Sandy Harbutt, who she met while starring in a stage production of A Taste of Honey in Newcastle.^[7] They also starred together in Stone.