Outgoing 2017 student leader Indigo Levett has one more reason to be proud of her many achievements as she leaves Nayland College. The talented thespian has been selected as part of a 24 strong group to travel to The Globe Theatre in London next year as a member of the Young Shakespeare Company.

Indigo’s talent was evident to judges during the regional Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival held at Motueka High School earlier this year. She played three different roles at the regional festival: Phoebe in ‘As You Like It’, Grumio in ‘The Taming of the Shrew’, and a last-minute part in ‘The Merchant of Venice’.

Half of those selected to be part of the Young Shakespeare Company are from direct entries from the regional festivals held around the country, as was the case for Indigo. The other half are chosen at the national festival held in Wellington during the spring school holidays.

Indigo says that the diverse group travelling to The Globe Theatre in July 2018 already know each other from previous workshops and performances. As well as performance talent, the selection criteria were about participants’ abilities to relate to one another and contribute.

Indigo sees her selection as a real challenge, as the other members are so passionate about what they do. “You always have to step up everything you do, all the energy you bring,” she said.

One thing Indigo was only recently made aware of was the fact that she was actually ranked top of the female selection list. This will come as no surprise to the many people who saw her outstanding comic performance in this year’s Nayland musical production of ‘Bye Bye Birdie’.

As for what’s next, Indigo plans to stay on overseas after her stint with the Company has finished. She’s got friends in Berlin to visit and is keen to make it to Mongolia, top of her desired travel destinations. What comes after that she’s not sure of yet. “I’m equally excited and thrilled as I am confused as to what I’m going to do,” she said.

Nayland College wishes Indigo all the best as she embarks on this exciting endeavour and moves forward into the post-school stage of her life.