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Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ Media Release

Two and a half comedies

Forty-eight students, eight days, five workshop tutors, three plays and directors, two public performances, and one playwright. This is Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ’s National Shakespeare Schools Production (SGCNZ NSSP) in numbers. But there is so much so much more to it than pure numbers. It is a week full of work, learning, laughter, personal development and the eternal words of the Bard.

These students were selected from the SGCNZ 24 Regional and National University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festivals 2017 and its allied Costume Design  and Music Composition Competitions to attend SGCNZ NSSP 2017. This week-long theatre intensive offers secondary school students the opportunity to rehearse and perform abridged versions of three different Shakespeare plays with three high-calibre directors, and have invaluable Workshops taken by other renowned arts practitioners. Apart from honing their acting and performance skills and expanding their knowledge of the arts and Shakespeare, the students learn valuable life lessons and forge deep and lasting friendships.

"Hailing from forty-one different schools throughout the country, from area schools, through all the socio-economic strata, to a few private schools, the students are put on a 'level playing field' and gain experience in coping with the real life situations of collaborating and producing an end result for the public in just a week," remarked SGCNZ CEO, Dawn Sanders, "It is akin to a cultural version of Outward Bound."

Robin Payne will direct The Winter’s Tale with her group. Categorised as one of Shakespeare’s 'problem plays', The Winter’s Tale walks a fine line between comedy, tragedy and romance. Robin has worked in theatre world for over fifty years. Apart from being an actor and director, she has also taught drama and voice for many years in New Zealand and overseas, most recently in Singapore for some time.. She is the former Director of Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School.

Peter Hambleton will be working with the students on Shakespeare’s crazy and fun play, The Comedy of Errors, in a 21st century setting!  Peter is not only an accomplished actor on stage and screen, having played the dwarf Gloin in The Hobbit Trilogy, but is also an extremely experienced theatre director. A former Shakespeare’s Globe International Actor Fellow in 2002, Peter directed the 2017 Wellington Summer Shakespeare production of All’s Well That Ends Well for which he received praise from audience and critics alike.

Eleanor Bishop is a New Zealand writer and director who is also active in the US theatre scene. She makes socially engaged and critical performances, aiming to reveal and explain oppressive social structures through audience participation. Her latest work is Jane Doe, a play about rape culture which she wrote over three years with the assistance of various US university campuses. In her hands The Taming of the Shrew will not only prompt laughter, but also evoke a substantial amount of critical thought amongst its teenage cast..

With these three exceptional theatre directors and the 48 enthusiastic young actors, the two public performances of those 'two and a half comedies' are promising to be a real delight. The first performance on Saturday 7 October, 7.30pm will be held at Mac’s Function Centre in the Te Aro Room, while the second one on Sunday 8 October, 2.00pm, will be at the Wild Theatre, Wellington Zoo.

Through continuous assessment, half of the troupe will have the exciting additional thrill of being selected to form SGCNZ Young Shakespeare Company 2018, and will travel to the Globe in July next year to train and perform there.

        Performances: Saturday 7^th October 2017 at 7.30pm/Sunday 8 October 2017 at 2.00pm

        Venue:     Saturday Performance: Te Aro Room, Mac’s Function Centre, Taranaki Street Wharf, Wellington

                         Sunday Performance: Wild Theatre, Wellington Zoo,

        Bookings:  For Mac’s: via www.iTICKET.org.nz , door sales available (cash only)

                           For the Zoo: via the SGCNZ office, E: Shakespeare.et.al@gmail.com, P: 04 384 1300

        Find the booking form online under www.sgcnz.org.nz, pre-booking is essential, NO door sales

        Tickets:     For Mac’s: $25-$12

                           For the Zoo: $10-$2.50 + $15 p.p. for Zoo entry