Deidre Rubenstein (born 1948)^[1] is a Jewish-Australian^[2] screen and theatre actress, dramatist and playwright, well known for her performance in Australian soap operas and main stage dramatic roles.

Rubenstein graduated from theNational Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1967.^[3]

Rubenstein has worked in television comedies, drama, mini-series and TV movies.^[4] In 1970 she appeared in an episode ofHomicide. She played a recurring guest role inPrisoner (1979–80), as terroristJanet Dominguez.

She had leading roles in 1990 filmBreaking Through and 1985 miniseriesPalace of Dreams, the latter for which she won anAustralian Film Institute Award forBest Actress.

In 2004 Rubenstein played the schemingSvetlanka Ristic for twelve episodes of the soap operaNeighbours.^[4]

She has appeared in further guest roles in 1980 miniseriesWater Under The Bridge, medical dramasG.P. andMDA,Mercury, comedy seriesIntroducing Gary Petty,The Secret Life of Us,Kick and police dramasBlue Heelers andCity Homicide.

Rubenstein also has appeared in Australian feature filmsSiam Sunset (1999),Hey Hey It’s Esther Blueberger alongsideKeisha Castle-Hughes andEssie Davis (2008),Salvation withWendy Hughes (2008) andForce of Destiny alongsideDavid Wenham (2015).

Rubenstein's career in the theatre includes work with several major Australian companies, including theNimrod Theatre Company andMelbourne Theatre Company.^[5]

In 1993, she had a solo show calledWhat's a Girl to Do?,^[6] where she performed poems written by contemporary Australian female poets.^[7] It was later performed by Rubenstein atThe Stables Theatre in Sydney (1994) and at the 1995Edinburgh Festival.^[8]

This show inspired her to do another solo show using work commissioned for her, work that was written to be performed live. She was awarded a Victorian Government Women Artist's Grant and commission contemporary writers to produce the performance pieces that were later produced in a book calledConfidentially Yours. The first performance was in thePlaybox Theatre Centre, C.U.BMalthouse, Melbourne on 11 February 1998. The writers commissioned to produce the work that becameConfidentially Yours wereJanis Balodis,Andrew Bovell,Nick Enright,Michael Gurr,Daniel Keene,Joanna Murray-Smith andDebra Oswald.Andrew Bovell wrote a pair of stories for the show that he later used in the script for the filmLantana.

In 2005, Rubenstein performed inMenopause the Musical, a comedy breaking down the taboos aboutmenopause.^[9] withCaroline Gillmer,Susan-Ann Walker andJane Clifton. Rubenstein as 'The Dubbo Housewife', explored the stereotypes and madness of that time in a woman's life.

In 2015, she playedGertrude Stein in the musicalLoving Repeating - a Musical of Gertrude Stein in Melbourne.

Rubenstein has produced a significant body of work as a narrator of audio books and has won several awards in this field.^[10]

^[12]

• Rubenstein, Deirdre, ed. (1998).Confidentially yours (Australian Drama – 20th Century). Melbourne: Currency Press, Sydney, in Association with Playbox Theatre Centre, Monash University.ISBN 0-86819-553-7.

• Deidre Rubenstein atIMDb
• doollee.com – Playwrights
• Candide reviews Nimrod Theatre (Retrieved 8 August 2007)

• 1948 births
• Living people
• AACTA Award winners
• Australian dramatists and playwrights
• Australian film actresses
• Australian soap opera actresses
• Australian stage actresses
• Jewish Australian actresses
• 20th-century Australian actresses
• 21st-century Australian actresses

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