Te Awamutu College’s Lily Dixon, James Crowhurst, Rylee Phillips and Kayla Chubb were Hermia, Lysander, Helena and Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the festival. Photo: Sam Salcedo.
He was born just 459 years ago – but William Shakespeare’s influence remains as strong and as relevant as ever.
Eight schools competed in the Waikato regional section of the annual Sheilah Winn Shakespeare festival at Te Awamutu last weekend, presenting five and 15 minute excerpts of his work,.
“I personally love the work that Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand (SGCNZ) does through this Festival,” Te Awamutu College’s drama department head Morag Carter told The News.
“It is an opportunity for those students who want to perform, but don’t want to sing and dance to take the stage and shine.
“The allied competitions also provide opportunities for our budding costume designers, composers, graphic designers, and literary critics to develop their skills and talents through the allied competitions.”
She said Shakespeare was a wonderful medium for students to explore modern issues and experiences.
“His insights into the human condition are still relevant today, proving that people don’t really change. I’ve seen some amazing performances over the last 32 years of the festival and this year’s Waikato regional winners were particularly strong; their performances excellent and their messages clear.
“We had a wonderful festival. It was great to be back in person, sharing our work with each other.”
Results: 15 Minute Performance winner: Hamilton Girls’ High School with The Tempest, 5 Minute Performance winner: Cambridge High School with Measure for Measure.
