The Bard proved to be popular at Avonside this year with sixteen students volunteering to competitively speak in Verse at the University of Otago Shelia Winn Shakespeare Festival.

Our team consisted of Ruby Low, Brooke Sykes, Kayla O’Callaghan, Ayla Joyce, Pania Howden, Rosie Paul, Jessie Harris, Ruby Froggart, Isana Yazdani, Isabella Harneiss, Zoe Langley, Sarah McCaffery, Kayla-Jean Bramhall, Eleisha Friend, Miriama Smith and Jennifer Haslett.

The team was coached by teachers, Dani Coulter, Briar Patrick and Victoria Shaw. Briar was also one of the organizers of the Christchurch competition and worked very hard to make things run smoothly over both competition days.

Aiming to subvert the expectations for an all-girls’ school, we chose to perform the opening scene from Titus Andronicus. The scene was brought into modern times and, while the language was kept original to the text, the action changed to highlight the negative impact social media can have on our young people. Rather than the gore and violence this play is known for, cell phones were smashed on stage, people were unfollowed, and social media pages sacrificed.

The students worked very hard to prepare the scene over only a few weeks, committing to lunch time and after school practices. On the day, the team gave an outstanding performance, taking home the award for boldest concept. Ruby Froggart was given the award for best supporting actress for her role as Lavinia.