At 87 years old, Selwyn Community Arts Theatre stalwart June Renwick still lives and breathes theatre joy. Photo / Michael Craig
If June Renwick ever wrote a book, she jokes it would be called ‘just do it’. At 87 years old, the Selwyn Theatre stalwart’s passion for stagecraft still shines as bright as the glimmer in her cast’s eyes. She tells Mitchell Hageman what’s kept her spark alive.
“I am slightly mad, I think. But it’s good to be mad at 87,” June Renwick says.
The home economics whiz, cooking queen and former hockey player has dipped her finger into plenty of pies over the years, but nothing beats the joy of seeing the cast she’s directed discover their potential onstage.
The Selwyn College drama classroom we’re sitting in is filled to the brim with costumes for Renwick’s latest show Mamma Mia and it’s emitting a distinct musky smell that any former high school drama student would remember. But it’s in rooms like this where she has witnessed plenty of “lightbulb” moments.
“Being able to create images and bring people together, and to see how good people feel about themselves when they’ve done it. That’s what really gets to me,” she says.
One thing that becomes very clear, very quickly is that Renwick lives and breathes her work. She’s directed and produced shows for Selwyn Community Arts Theatre since it began in 2005 and spent more than 20 years as Selwyn College’s head of drama , but her passion for the arts started long before that.
“From age 4, I was learning dancing and singing on the town hall stage,” she says, recalling fond memories of performing Dame Vera Lynn’s It’s a Lovely Day Tomorrow.
Her parents encouraged her to join a local operatic society, and she says at high school, “drama was my life”.
“I didn’t care about anything else.”
Having “many strings to her bow” like hockey training and home economics skills meant the world was her oyster. She trained as a home economics teacher, and it wasn’t until she was 40 that she studied for a drama diploma.
“[The diploma] was sort of my second chance, you know, to do things.”
Her work took her to Fiji, where she directed shows, including one performed in Hindi. When she returned to New Zealand, she committed her time to teaching, both in schools and community theatre.
“I just love the energy and what [students] give, and also the fact that we can be on the same wavelength, not as a granny and kids, but as a teacher and young kids who want to learn. I’m very lucky to have been able to do that.
“I think the rise of drama and music in schools has given us this wonderful group of people who are going forth and creating, not only on stage, but on the technical side of things,” she says. “It’s blossoming and kids have got futures in that area.”
Renwick still keeps in contact with past students – they often turn up to her shows. She believes it’s a testament to the power of community theatre.
“Everything’s sort of a disaster around us, so to come to the theatre and be taken away by the magic of theatre, it’s just wonderful,” she says.
As for her own path ahead, Renwick is just as optimistic. For her, it’s not about struggling or pushing, but instead about keeping that feeling and passion alive by just doing what she loves the most.
“I don’t think about being 87,” she laughs. “I’m still going to do things. I say to my family that if I ever write a book, it will be called ‘just do it.’ You just do it and keep on doing it.”
A testament to her passion – and perhaps persuasion – Renwick says she’s convinced 90-year-olds to get on stage (although sometimes they have fallen asleep) and also convinced her cousin’s retirement village to help out with art projects for shows.
“I believe you should keep on doing what you love until you can’t do it anymore.”
And it’s love that dictates the musicals that have a special place in Renwick’s heart, like Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific.
“I loved it, really because of my husband. When we went overseas, I’d lose him, and then he would be whistling Some Enchanted Evening, and because of that I’d find him again."
Next door, drills and hammers pound away at the Greek Island Pier being built to transport audiences from Selwyn Theatre to the world of Mamma Mia. Magic in the making, no doubt. And Renwick is already thinking of a way to rope new people into performing in her next show.
“It will be great – you might even be in it.”
Mamma Mia runs at Auckland’s Selwyn Theatre from Friday, September 26 to Saturday, October 4, with tickets available via Iticket.
Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.