Samesame But Different presents the third year of the Praise the Lord playwright residency in collaboration with Auckland Pride and Auckland Theatre Company, inspired by Robert Lord. As the opening event of the residency, Samesame But Different hosts a reading event at Basement Theatre of a new work by a local queer writer. This will be a staged reading of the play or an excerpt. 

About the 2026 Praise the Lord platwright resident, Connor Amor-Bendall;

Connor Amor-Bendall is a writer and actor who hails from Tairāwhiti. She has recently completed a Master of Creative Writing from The University of Auckland, and has a Master of Journalism from The University of Melbourne. She has written for the likes of Ensemble, Broadsheet (Aus), NINE News (Aus), Antithesis Journal, YoVocal Magazine, and InView.

In 2024 Connor's debut play, The Clitoris Conundrum, premiered to a sold-out season at Basement Theatre and will return to Q Theatre next month for Pride. Connor won the 2024 V48 Hours WIFT Best Female / Gender Diverse Script Award for her film Down Slayment. Her first short film, What is Left Unsaid, is in post-production and she is developing her second, Lest We Forget, as part of Day One 2025.

A graduate of The Actors Program, Connor’s on screen credits include Cassy Beaton in The Ridge, Bridget Kinkelly in Literally Dead, Peter in Sweet Tooth, Alpha in Power Rangers, Celia in Testify, and Briar Linton in Shortland Street. Connor was a participant in Proud Voices on Screen’s 2025 Queer Producers Incubator, and Auckland Theatre Company’s 2025 Emerging Writers Table. She’s passionate about making work that explores the nexus of art, queerness and the political sphere.