Writer and theatre-maker Jo Randerson is recognised as one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most original voices. Their writing is dark, funny, poetic and absurd, and frequently peopled with subversive characters.  

Jo’s published works include short-story collections The Spit Children, Tales from The Netherworld, The Keys to Hell, the poetry volume The Wind Is Up and We’re On, and several plays. These include Fold, The Lead Wait, and The Unforgiven Harvest, which are performed frequently in schools and professional theatres. Their writing has won them the Robert Burns Fellowship, an Arts Foundation New Generation Award, and the Bruce Mason Award for playwriting. Jo’s new creative non-fiction book Secret Art Powers was published in July 2025, and is already in its fourth print run.

Jo is a popular public speaker and progressive thinker about the arts’ relevance in society and the way artists structure their careers. They work as a director of content and performance events, and also as an MC, performer, and keynote speaker. Alongside the book of Secret Art Powers, Jo also offers theatrical lectures which examine each Power the book has to offer. Jo debuted this new blend of theatre and talk at the Auckland Writers Festival in 2026.

Jo is the founder and artistic director of Barbarian Productions (theatre company). Recent theatre works include Speed is Emotional, Sing It To My Face, Soft N Hard, and Cook Thinks Again. In addition to creating award-winning theatre for Barbarian, Jo regularly directs other artists, most recently Chris Parker’s No Dancing in the Good Room; Dominic Hoey’s 45c an Hour; and Freya Finch’s A Slow Burlesque’. 

Jo’s first short screenplay Hey, Brainy Man! won the NZIFF Patron’s Choice Award in 2023. Internationally, their collaboration M&A with Goldin+Senneby is part of the MoMa collection.