SGCNZ - Whanganui/Manawatu/Rangitikei Regional Festival

The words and stories from Shakespeare’s works live on through yet another generation. More than eighty talented, enthusiastic and creative young performers aged 12-18 will tread the boards of Palmerston North’s Globe on Sunday 7th April for this year’s Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ’s Regional Festival. This region covers Whanganui-Manawatū-Rangitīkei.

These young performers will present scenes that are either 5 minutes or 15 minutes in length and the 5 minute scenes are all student directed. Participation and collaboration are the key to creating each of these scenes.

Last year Eli Hancock and Jacob Waugh were members of Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ’s Young Shakespeare Company that studied theatre at London’s Globe Theatre, which culminated in a public performance. Since then they have created two productions for Palmerston North audiences. The beginning of their journey started here with their performance at the Regional Festival in 2022.

This year is particularly special as it will be Shakespeare’s 460th birthday. After the presentations at the end of the afternoon’s performances, a celebration of Shakespeare’s 460th Birthday will ensue, including cake cutting, merriment, song and dance.

To complement the onstage performances at PN’s Globe Theatre there are 6 associated competitions for creatives: Costume Design, Writing an Essay, Composing Music, Creating a Static Image, Designing a Poster and Developing a Video Title. These competitions are open to any students at a kura, school or community group.