Tucking in are staff and Year 9 students for this year's Shakespeare Day. Photographer Paul Taylor Hawke's Bay Today
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Tucking in are staff and Year 9 students for this year's Shakespeare Day.
PHOTO: PAUL TAYLOR
There were flamboyant ruffs, a banquet and even sword fights at this year's annual Napier Girls' High School's Year 9 Shakespeare Day.
"We were going to hold our celebration earlier in the term, but with lockdown scuppering our initial plans we were delighted that we were able to find another date for the big day," says head of English Bridget West.
"As this is my first year at Napier Girls' High School, I was keen to take part in the day as I had heard so much about it. It was amazing to see how much effort the students put into planning their costumes and preparing their banqueting tables."
A wide range of workshops were run in the morning and the students got stuck in with "enthusiasm and energy".
From the sweet smell of citrus and cinnamon wafting out of the classroom where pomanders were being made, to the hearty clash of swords emanating from the sword-fighting school, through to the flamboyant ruffs and masks that students made and then wore as they moved from one workshop to another, senses were fully assailed with the sights, sounds and smells of Shakespeare day.
Students took on board the words of Shakespeare — 'Prepare for mirth, for mirth becomes a feast.'
"Naturally, the banquet retained pride of place, and, as the workshops came to an end, the students rushed to prepare the great hall for a feast consisting of food and drink available in Elizabethan England. Tables groaned under the weight of the food and laughter rang around the hall."
Bridget says the day concluded with the chosen representatives from each class presenting either their dramatic performances of key scenes from the plays they had studied or speeches about an aspect of Shakespeare's life and times that they had researched in lockdown learning.
"All competitors performed with aplomb but special mention goes to Kaela Brans (9A), who came third for her speech on 'Shakespeare the Feminist', Maddy Dolley and Emily Davidson-Payne (9K), who were awarded second place for their performance of Act 2 Scene 5 from 'Romeo and Juliet', and Lilly Eneliko (9H), who won the competition with her crowdpleasing speech on 'Shakespeare: the man, the myth, the legend!'
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