On Friday 30 May, a group of 12 Botany students and their teachers met at 4.30am at Auckland Airport to wing their way to Wellington and take part in the national finals of the SGCNZ Shakespeare Festival at St James Theatre.
We had a busy first day with workshops ranging from sword combat to script work, an impromptu tour of the city and met with all of the other schools to find out what we would be doing for the rest of the weekend. On Friday night one of the highlights of the whole trip was a theatre production of Dr Faustus by Victoria University of Wellington theatre students. The audience was mesmerised by actors appearing from the underworld and the devil making an appearance on stilts.
Saturday and Sunday were spent at the theatre watching all of the performances. By the time Sunday morning arrived, we were anticipating our performance. With one last rehearsal in the car park, our group was ready to perform the Macbeth ensemble to a full house. On Sunday evening, there was a celebratory atmosphere with a lot of singing as we waited for the judges to award the certificates.
Our final day was more relaxed with free time to visit The Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa, and walk round the humbling Gallipoli exhibition with its life-sized models and personal documents from the people who took part. After a quick trip down Cuba Street to buy gifts, a Godzilla model and some feline fingerless gloves, it was time to head back to Auckland.
~ Mrs S Walton, Head of Drama