HGHS students from across all year groups banded together to create a 10 minute scene from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, to enter the University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival.

“Macbeth” is the story of a Scottish general who is told by three witches that he will one day be king. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth kills the existing king to speed up the process, and then kills more people to cover up his despicable actions. Macbeth and his wife’s guilt and paranoia then lead them into misery and madness.

“In our scene Lady Macbeth’s guilt has caught up with her and her mental health is suffering terribly. Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking and talking, rubbing her hands, desperate to wash the 'blood' off,” explains Gigi Lyndon who plays Lady Macbeth. "My Nan works in mental health and when I described my role to her, she recognised similar distress from her work and she was able to help me a lot with my character.”

‘Sheilah Winn’ as it’s known around the HGHS Drama Department, is open to all students. There are no ensemble auditions and students who do not take drama at school are welcome. There are 24 cast members this year. 

“There are only three named characters in our scene so we needed a way to use everyone. We did that by having people represent the blood and Lady Macbeth's inner demons. The torch bearers and the ‘demons’ dressed in flowing red and black, give the whole desperate, menacing feel to support Lady Macbeth’s distress," describes Te Aniwaniwa Leefe, who plays Lady Macbeth's doctor.

Covid mandates have inspired a different format for entries into the Regional event in 2022. Performances were recorded and submitted at the end of March. National selections are made from those recordings.

“Recording our scene was really different this year,” explains Chloe Dangawen, one of the demons and a cast member of one of the 5 minutes pieces. “I missed the atmosphere of Regionals. I missed the feedback from an audience and you don’t get to see what other schools have been up to. I really hope we can go to Nationals so we can see that and perform for an audience. It doesn’t really feel finished if we don’t get that opportunity. But that is Covid, isn’t it?”

HGHS also has two other Sheilah Winn entries. They are student-directed scenes with three actresses each. One from "Twelfth Night" and one from "Much Ado About Nothing."

The Shakespeare Festival is sponsored by the University of Otago and run by the Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand (SGCNZ). Half of New Zealand secondary schools participate in the Regional events. Those selected to attend Nationals compete, but also attend a series of workshops aimed at fostering what SGCNZ describe as “a cultural united nations… using Shakespeare as a tool to enhance life skills.”

“Shakespearean language may challenge some people, but his plays are universal, and therefore still relevant today. He’s very wise, and the plays have life lessons for everybody,” explains Ms Wynne-Jones, Head of Faculty Arts. “If we are lucky enough to make it to Nationals, students get to immerse themselves in Shakespeare - the plays, the language, different ways of presenting familiar stories, the costumes. They will attend demonstrations and workshops and meet with other students from all over the country. It’s a lot of fun.”

The focus on participation has not prevented HGHS enjoying considerable past success at Sheilah Winn. HGHS entries have received top awards in the past three years. Last year Eden Peters (Year 13) won best supporting actress and was selected for the World Youth Shakespeare Company. She will go to London in July to work with professional Shakespearean actors at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Other students from HGHS have often been selected for the National Youth Shakespeare Company.