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Otago Daily Times
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Barbie-inspired Shakespeare wins awards for actor, school
Glenn Ericsson may not be plastic, but he is certainly fantastic playing a beat-up, toddler-maimed Shakespearean Barbie. The 17-year-old John McGlashan College student recently won the outstanding individual comic role award at the Shakespeare Global Centre New Zealand National Festival, in Wellington, for playing Katherina Minola in McGlashan's production of The Taming of the Shrew. The school also won the outstanding presentation from a comedy award. "We did Taming of the Shrew ... but we did it in more of a Barbie style," he said. "Two of us were like Barbies — the rest were Kens. "We didn't really change anything from the actual Shakespearean script itself, but our costumes and our set was very heavily inspired by the Barbie movie. "The way we moved was more like Barbie dolls — it was all very stiff." He said the movements added to the humour of the play. While he was delighted with the awards, he said playing a Barbie doll had its cons — particularly the amount of glitter and makeup he had to wear. It took ages to get off again, and in the case of glitter, some of it stayed stuck to him for days. John McGlashan College students (from left) Glenn Ericsson, Tim Stevens and Harper Milne perform a scene from their Barbie-inspired adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew. Glenn recently won the outstanding individual comic role award at the Shakespeare Global Centre New Zealand National Festival in Wellington. Photo: Peter McIntosh "It goes everywhere," he said. "The rest of the boys seem rather amused by it, to be honest." Glenn said he had been acting in theatre productions since primary school, but had been taking it far more seriously in recent years. The thing that attracted him to acting was being able to socialise with people he might not normally talk to. It was also an opportunity to step out of his comfort zone and be somebody different. "It's a form of escapism. It takes your mind off the troubles of your day, just by doing something completely different." He is considering pursuing acting as a career in Wellington, but it was still early days, he said. Glenn is now hoping to get a date — with destiny. He hoped his role as Katherina/Barbie would earn him one of 46 places in the National Shakespeare Schools Production later this year. Of those students, 24 would be chosen to travel to the Globe, in London, and to attend a two-week course in Stratford-upon-Avon. "Fingers crossed, I get selected."
Otago Daily Times
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Ghillies on, aboynes donned, bagpipes ready
Highland dancers (from left) Eleanor McKay Vercoe, 10, Lara Mills, 8, Elise Cookson, 7, and Lucy McKay Vercoe, 6, are ready to perform at the 113th Annual Highland and National Dancing Championships at Otago Boys' High School today. PHOTO: LINDA ROBERTSON While many of us will be blissfully sleeping in this weekend, hundreds of Highland and National dancers will be flinging themselves across a stage to the skirl of bagpipes. Piping and Dancing Association of New Zealand Otago Centre president Shiobhan Smith said about 120 dancers of all ages, from as far away as Auckland, would be competing in the 113th Annual Highland and National Dancing Championships at Otago Boys' High School. She said the Otago provincial competition had attracted so many competitors this year because South Island dancing titles were also on offer at the championships. "So there'll be awards for South Island level dancing as well as Otago level dancing, all in the same competition." She said it was also very popular because the competition had a very long history. "The actual Piping and Dancing Association of New Zealand started in Dunedin, hence why we have that long history. "A number of the cups and trophies that we give out, have been awarded since at least the 1920s. "They often have the who's who of Highland dancing from the last 100 years as winners [are] engraved on them, so there's a lot of prestige in doing well at these competitions. "It is also one of the best big competitions for competitors to compete in, in order to complete their preparations for the New Zealand championships in July." At the same time, the Otago Centre would be running the 113th Annual Solo Piping Competitions at John McGlashan College, where about 65 pipers would be vying for Otago, South Island and national titles, she said. "If we weren't doing this on a King's Birthday weekend, we'd be sleeping in. "But we're a passionate bunch. "I don't think any of us could see ourselves doing anything but. "There's no such thing as sleeping in on a weekend like this — not with all the bagpipes around." Entry to both events is free.
Otago Daily Times
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Dancers, pipers to converge on Dunedin
Junior dancer Lara Mills, 8, will compete in the Otago Centre annual Highland & National Dancing Championship competitions. Photo: supplied Dunedin will host hundreds of pipers and Highland dancers from across the country for the annual Championship Piping & Highland & National Dancing Competitions over King's Birthday Weekend. The Highland & National Dancing Championship competitions will be held this Saturday and Sunday, from 8.30am at Otago Boys' High School, and the Piping Championship competitions will be held at John McGlashan College at the same time. The dancing sections will include more than 100 competitors, coming from as far afield as Auckland and Invercargill, ranging in age from under 6 years to 18 years and over. The piping championship competition will involve about 65 competitors, ranging from under 16 years to open events. Organisers from the Otago Centre of the Piping & Dancing Association of New Zealand say competition will be particularly strong across the lower grades. The competition weekend will finish with New Zealand's top solo pipers coming together for the Double March, Reel and Strathspey event, to be held at the Leisure Lodge on Saturday night, June 1, from 7.30pm. All welcome, entry costs $10. @
Otago Daily Times
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Southland Boys' still unbeaten
Southland Boys' centre Caleb Harvey carries the ball forward during an inter-school First XV game at John McGlashan College on May 7. Photo: Linda Robertson Southland Boys' 1st XV has stamped is mark on the division 1 Southern School Rugby Championship. The Invercargill school are now the outright leaders of the competition after they thumped Dunstan 71-5 at Molyneux Park on Saturday. Winger Zeke Siolo picked up a hat-trick and first five Jimmy Taylor's haul of 21 points — including eight conversions — helped Southland Boys become the only unbeaten school and sit on 15 points. King's High Schools 1st were previously unbeaten as well, but they slipped after a 28-25 loss to rivals Otago Boys' 1st at the weekend. John McGlashan College 1st also recorded a tight 28-21 victory against Southland Boys' 2nd at Les George Oval. There were some big results in the Blue Pool as well. Waitaki Boys' remains at the top of that competition after recording a 35-17 win against Central Southland College at Peter Johnston Park. St Kevin's College made the most of a trip to Dunedin where they pumped John McGlashan College 2nd 87-7. Powerful No 8 Siu Fisipuna and winger Louie Hose collected four tries each for their troubles. Lock Flynn Kilbride returned home with a hat-trick. South Otago also had a solid 53-27 win against Maruawai/Menzies in Balclutha. In the Moroon Pool, Mt Aspiring College edged their neighbours Wakatipu High School 21-17 in a big second-half effort in Wānaka. There was another tight battle between Otago Boys' and King's 2nds, but it was Otago Boys' 2nds who came out on top 31-29. Cromwell College beat Taieri College 41-13 at home in a Friday night fixture. — APL
