Macleans College students compete at National Shakespeare Finals
Posted on June 19, 2023
Macleans College relished the opportunity to compete in the Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand (SGCNZ) University of Otago Sheilah Winn National Shakespeare Finals in Wellington over King’s Birthday Weekend, after being selected at regionals as the best five-minute group.
Five students, along with six supporting crew, presented a comical extract from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, competing against forty other interpretations of Shakespeare’s plays. Their performance included Liliana Relf (Te Kanawa House) as a fairylights-clad Puck, along with the combative Demetrius and Lysander, played by Lucy Jurd (Mansfield) and Nethra Tennakoon (Kupe). Tamzin Scullard (Mansfield) and Tanisha Khan (Mansfield) gave the audience a feisty female feud as Helena and Hermia. They even took a tree on the plane with them to complete the magical forest effect.
Over the weekend the students watched an array of haunting witches, troubled princes, conflicted lovers and even an Elvis-impersonating rendition of Bottom. In addition to the two days of Shakespeare performances, the group participated in workshops led by some of New Zealand’s leading actors, directors and theatre professionals along with a tour of Te Papa museum by the captivating Rangimoana Taylor.
Thank you to SGCNZ and University of Otago for organising this competition and providing the students with such an enriching experience of Shakespeare.
