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Aranui High School Drama

Aranui actors take top spot for third year

Aranui actors to Shakepeare festivalMedia release: At the New Zealand Theatre Federation South Island Festival of Community Theatre held in Blenheim in August 2007, Aranui High School’s Romeo and Juliet took top honours.

Competing against nine other theatre productions, all of whom had won the right to compete via a series of district festivals held in July, Aranui High School won the award for Best Youth Production and Best Overall Production.

The performance won a standing ovation from the Boathouse Theatre audience, and adjudicator for the festival, Gabrielle Barr, described Aranui’s gangland setting of Romeo and Juliet as “breathtaking”.  Barr now travels to Fielding to judge the best productions form the North Island this weekend and the top productions from around the country compete in Dunedin at the National Festival in September. 

Aranui drama teacher Robert Gilbert said his students were thrilled at taking the South Island title and were looking forward to the prospect of competing against the country’s best in a few weeks.  The troupe already have plans to compete in an International Festival in Norfolk Island in October.