Take a bow – College wins Shakespeare Festival spot
09 Apr 2024
Charlie Wood has directed a remarkable cast of Christ’s College students to secure a national final spot at the SGCNZ University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival in Wellington.
The multi-talented Year 11 student has directed the ghostly banquet scene from Macbeth to win the coveted 15-minute category at the Canterbury competition.
Overseen by Assistant Director of Drama Nikki Bleyendaal, the 22-strong College group plans to immerse itself in Shakespeare workshops and performances at the national festival in June. The scene cast includes Daniel Wilson, Oscar Stove, Nisal Pathirana, Gus Elworthy, Justin Wang, Charlie de Costobadie, Conor Ruane, Luca Maxwell, Louis Sharr, Michael Rankin, and Bill Cross.
“It is the first time in the 10 or so years that I have been at College that we have a successful entry heading off to the national festival,” Nikki says.
“More than 40 incredibly talented Christ's College boys were involved in this year’s Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival. With three student directors – James Burt, Alex Johnston, and Charlie – and five scene entries from Much Ado About Nothing, Henry VI, Macbeth, and As You Like It, College certainly has shown Christchurch that Shakespeare’s work is alive and well today.
“Every single student did an absolutely stellar job at the festival, and I applaud their incredible performances. Thanks to Director of Drama Hannah Clarkson for her help, Philippa Dye for the costumes, and our techies, Blake McCarthy and Matthew Flint.”
Congratulations to all the boys involved in the festival: Aaron Kwak, Alex Johnston (director and actor), Alex Johnstone, Angus Vincent, Arlo McCrystal, Bill Cross (actor and make-up), Charlie de Costobadie, Charlie Doutch, Charlie Wood (director and actor), Cole Moffatt, Conor Ruane, Daniel Robertson, Daniel Wilson, David Wayne, Edward Elworthy, Edward Pottinger, Felipe Felitti-Duter, Gus Elworthy, Harry MacKenzie-Rickards, Hugo Bush, Hugo Miller, Jack Gorrie, James Anderson, James Burt (director and actor), James Melhuish, Justin Wang, Kever Thorley, Louis Sharr, Luca Maxwell, Michael Rankin, Nisal Pathinara, Ollie Trollip, Oscar Stove, Robert Kidd, Ryan Tian, Sam Bennett, Sean Zhang, Thomas Clayson, Tinura Gajamange, and Toby Sharr.
