Over Queen’s Birthday weekend five students, Jessica, Meagan, Molly, Nadia, and Sam (Year 12), attended the 5 day SGCNZ University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival.

Sam directed their very funny scene, the play of Pyramus and Thisbe, from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The high quality of the actors so impressed the judges that the team got two acting awards. Meagan was 'Best Supporting Actor' and Nadia was awarded 'Most Promising Actor of the Festival' which featured 43 schools from throughout the country. As well as performing, the team accompanied by our head of Drama, Mrs Joanne Clark, visited Toi Whakaari, the National Drama School and attended professionally run workshops as diverse as Shakespeare in song, theatre design, physical theatre, audience interaction, examining text, and dance. 

Over 2 days they watched a range of incredible performances, scenes from Hamlet, Cymbeline, Taming of the Shrew, Othello and many other Shakespearean plays; scenes set underwater, on bikes or in boxes; scenes in monochrome and scenes in rainbow colors. They were encouraged to explore Shakespeare and to explore their own values and ethics. The event was a gloriously colourful performance, an academic challenge, with the warm pleasure of meeting people who share your passion for theatre. Congratulations to the team and thank you to everyone in our kura, in their whānau and the community who supported them.