Audiences will be seeing double this November as Shakespeare’s classic tale of mistaken identities, The Comedy of Errors, takes over primary school aged children in the Wellington region.
Eleven schools across the region are taking part in this year’s Primarily Playing With Shakespeare (PPWS), created by Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand (SGCNZ): Clifton Terrace Model School, Wellington Home Education Network, Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, Otari Primary School, Karori West Normal School, Queen Margaret College, St Mark’s Church School, Kelburn Normal School, Ridgway School, Hutt Intermediate School and Kena Kena School.
Students aged 5-12 have been rehearsing their allotted scenes in their own schools and homeschool cluster for the last few weeks. One half will come together for the action-packed one-hour performance at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School and the other half at Hutt Intermediate School, a week later.
The process has been guided by Mentor and Co-Director, Michael Armstrong, who has been working with teachers, sharing the methodology to ensure it will be a cohesive production. This play presents additional challenges, as it revolves around two sets of identical twins, and with each character performed by up to six different students!
Aimed at young people from Years 1-8 and their teachers, PPWS is a programme, now in its seventh year, created to develop core skills as they embark on a journey of discovery, igniting and delighting their artistic creativity. For the teachers, it gives them the chance to explore core curriculum through a new dramatic lens.
“Far from finding the Bard’s plays difficult, these very young students relish the opportunity to experience his works through exploration of the text in a fun, imaginative and thematic way, while increasing their literacy and collaborative skills,” remarked SGCNZ CEO, Dawn Sanders.
From a student at Clifton Terrace Model School after being in SGCNZ PPWS Twelfth Night last year: “I really enjoyed it - it was super fun. I definitely want to do it again next year.”
Many of the participants over the years have gone on participate in SGCNZ’s annual University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festivals, which are for secondary age students. Three have even been selected to go to the Globe as members of SGCNZ Young Shakespeare Company.
The relevance of Shakespeare’s human relationships to everyday life today is not lost on the young people. From an early age they find it empowering to learn that expressions such as ‘green-eyed monsters’ and ‘fair is ‘fair’ were introduced through the writings of the Bard.
Ends
Performances
Samuel Marsden Collegiate School ~ Tuesday 3 November 2020, 12.30-1:30pm
Students from Clifton Terrace Model School, Wellington Home Education Network, Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, Otari Primary School and Karori West Normal School
Hutt Intermediate School ~ Tuesday 10 November 2020, 12.30-1:30pm
Students from Queen Margaret College, St Mark’s Church School, Kelburn Normal School, Ridgway School, Hutt Intermediate School and Kena Kena School
Tickets are available through iTicket and cash only door sales: Adults $12, Students $5, Children $2.50