Kiwi actress Robyn Malcolm is back to star in her latest, grittiest creative project 'After The Party'.

The Shortland Street and Top of the Lake star felt inspired to create her own role out of frustration from the lack of 'real' characters played by middle aged women.

She says she wanted to play a 'quintessentially Kiwi' character, a departure from the 'palatable' older women seen on screen in the past.

"There was a political angle to it as well, we wanted a woman from New Zealand. No mistaking that- she's not Australian, she's not American, we're not doing a version of someone else."

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