Mumbai-born Sudeepta (Sue) Vyas is an Auckland-based actor, and co-founder of Prayas Theatre Group, New Zealand’s largest South Asian theatre/cultural organisation. Over nearly two decades she has acted in numerous theatre productions and short films including much-acclaimed shows such as A Fine Balance, Love N Stuff, Swabhoomi: Borrowed Earth, Rudali, Charandas Chor – The Honest Thief, First World Problems, Yatra, and more. From the quirky to the sedate, her roles have covered characters as varied as an estranged wife, the queen’s maid, an over-the-hill prostitute, a ditsy marijuana smoker, a lost trekker, an ambitious bikini wax salon owner, and more.
A recent highlight was the opportunity to play Mrs Kapoor in the 2024 New Zealand tour of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, one of the biggest and most successful theatrical events of recent years. Presented by the Stetson Group in association with Ben McDonald Presents, it featured top UK artists - including Coronation Street fan favourite Rula Lenska, Harmage Singh Kalirai and director Lucy Waterhouse - in collaboration with an ensemble cast of some of New Zealand’s finest character actors.
Her latest film, “A Suit We Wear” by American director Meera Joshi of Darling Street Pictures, is an official selection at Chicago South Asian Film Festival.
When she is not acting, Sudeepta is a freelance writer, a consultant for not-for-profits, an avid trekker, and volunteers as a guide dog boarder. She lives in Auckland with her husband and has two young daughters who have moved to London.
