Jackie Clarke
Presenter
Jackie Clarke MNZM is renowned for her maverick entertainment style, whether it’s treading the boards ( Mamma Mia, Shirley Valentine), making music with her friends (The Lady Killers, When The Cat’s Been Spayed) appearing on the goggle box ( judging NZ Idol ) or MCing events.
In recent times she’s starred in a sell-out Auckland season of the one woman play My Brilliant Divorce and toured her solo cabaret show Jackie Goes Prima Diva around the motu.
Other recent credits include starring in the short film Spark and touring with its multi-sensory live theatre incarnation Spark Live, featuring as The Arbiter in Chess at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, and performing Rock Follies Forever at the Auckland Cabaret Festival and Hamilton festival with Jennifer Ward-Lealand and Laura Daniel. This year Jackie is looking forward to celebrating 20 years singing in The Lady Killers with NZ music icons Tina Cross & Suzanne Lynch.
Jackie’s association with Hairy Maclary and the songs of Jan Bolton goes back more than 20 years when she was the host in a series of theatre shows directed and choreographed by Paul Jenden, which brought Dame Lynley Dodd's wonderful characters to the stage in both Auckland and Wellington.
Jackie has starred in many musical theatre shows including Once, Mamma Mia, Anything Goes, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Porgy & Bess and Sweet Charity. She was a member of When the Cat’s been Spayed and has toured with rock ‘n roll royalty like Dave Dobbyn and Annie Crummer as well as performing with those legendary rock bands the Auckland Philharmonia, the NZSO and the CSO. Jackie has been a member of Jubilation Choir for 20 years & toured with Kids For Kids for almost a decade.
T.V work includes guest hosting The Project, appearances in The Jacquie Brown Diaries, core cast roles in comedy shows Skitz & The Semisis, presenting docos, hosting Saturday Live and judging NZ Idol & Showcase.
In 2018 Jackie was awarded an MNZM for services to the entertainment industry.
By all accounts, she’s an all-round choice wahine.
You can see Jackie Clarke in action with the Auckland Philharmonia on Saturday 26 July at Hairy Maclary's Greatest Hits