Whangārei Boys High School students Jackson Terry and M'Lago Morris are to grace the stage at London's Globe. Photo / Tania Whyte.
Whangārei Boys High School students Jackson Terry and M'Lago Morris are to grace the stage at London's Globe. Photo / Tania Whyte.
Two Whangārei Boys’ High School students have been selected to grace the stage at Shakespeare’s Globe in London.
Class of 2023 alumni Jackson Terry and one of next year’s Deputy Head Boys M’Lago Morris will be among 24 young New Zealanders at the Young Shakespeare Company’s (YSC) intensive three-week theatre course in London during July 2024.
They will enjoy performing, taking part in workshops, talks and watching performances at one of the most well-known stages in the world.
Fundraising efforts are due to soon begin in order to get the teens to the stage, which will cost around $22,000.
It is a historic moment for Whangārei Boys’ High School, which has never had more than one student take the stage in London at the same time.
Terry received the individual ‘Speak the Speech’ award and was also part of a group that performed a 15-minute piece from Love’s Labour’s Lost, which won Best Comic Ensemble and Most Effective Design.
Jackson Terry is spending his spare time performing with the National Youth Theatre.
Morris received the ‘Physical, Emotional and Political Commitment to Your Work’ award after performing a five-minute scene from the Tempest, which also won Outstanding Costume Design and Most Thought-Provoking Performance.
M'Lago Morris is excited to bring Whāngarei to the world stage.
Their performances won them the opportunity to be part of a student company at SGCNZ’s National Shakespeare Schools Production (NSSP) learning and performing Shakespeare in Wellington.
For Morris, the thought of bringing Aotearoa to the world stage is a driving force.
He said to represent his school, town and country overseas is an honour.
“Not just overseas, but at the globe theatre. That would’ve been something that at five years old I was dreaming about, and thinking of it on the same level as princesses and unicorns.”
Morris said it feels as though he is making a “dream” a reality.
Terry said the support he is surrounded by has ultimately helped get him to where he is.
“I don’t think I could have asked for better teachers and better support from friends and family,” he said.
Jackson Terry (left), and M'Lago Morris (right) are heading to London next year, pictured here with drama teacher, Peter Cook.
Both Morris and Terry enjoy the challenge that performing Shakespeare brings.
Terry said performing Shakespeare is a way to “expand his knowledge” of the art, while Morris said he enjoys the “creative freedom” that Shakespeare brings.
“It’s a source of creativity that gives you the ability to take a new turn on things,” he said.
Terry said the “beautiful thing” about theatre is that nothing is done the same twice.
The pair are living different lives in the meantime - Morris is in the role of Deputy Head Boy next year, while Terry is currently gracing the stage in the National Youth Theatres ‘High School Musical’ as the main character, Troy.
Future scholarships and drama studies may yet be in the pipeline for Terry as well.
Plans for fundraising are yet to come to fruition, though Morris joked there may be some “Bunnings snags” in the pipeline.
Brodie Stone is the education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.
