This has been an exceptional year. In case you are new here, I am a Theatre teacher… so I get to live my life doing theatre. And mostly, I love it. However, this year has been amazing for so many reasons. Here are my top 10 theatre moments of the year. Disclaimer…. I will say “amazing” a lot.

We went to see “Hamilton” in the West End… and it was brilliant.

Musicians composing as they walk.

Actors working out how to use the stocks in their performance.

10. Troll. (Trick of the Light Theatre)
Near the start of the year we travelled to Wellington to see “Troll”. It was cool to have students onboard who had never seen live theatre before, to those who had seen a whole lot of theatre, all enjoying the process of a show where you could see the tech crew, and singular actor the whole time. And the ride home in the bus, with everyone talking about how the play dealt with depression in teenagers… very cool.

9. SGCNZ NSSP Performance in Dunedin
I flew down to Dunedin to see the NSSP performance as it had one of my boys in it. Well, 2 of my boys. However, what I wasn’t expecting was the welcome of everyone else. Such a talented bunch of people, who put on 3 amazing 45 min performances of Shakespeare in a week. Amazing.

8. Amnesty International Freedom Challenge
Last year I worked with a group of students to produce a work for the “Write for Rights” campaign… and this year, 2 whole classes worked on original theatre for the “Freedom Challenge”. What they came up with was amazing.

7. Joy Cowley saying “yes”
I finally have a thesis project for my Masters…. and the author whose works I will convert for stage performance approved my request. Brilliant. And amazing. And humbling.

6. Regional Shakespeare
We did good. We won. AJ picked up the delivery of text award for the scene I directed from “Measure for Measure”. But the bits that made this next level… we took a group including a girl with down syndrome to perform, and they were amazing. And watching the crew work with our 3 groups, and the way everyone supported each other to prepare the set, costume changing, beard grooming, then shaving for a later scene…. such a blast.

5. The Arts Project
Having 3 weeks to experiment in education, with 80 students to enjoy creating within the Arts… a challenge, but a joy. And what the students created was brilliant.

4. Our Plastic Ocean
Devising original theatre is always a risk, but we came up with something brilliant in “Our Plastic Ocean”, a parable of what we have done to our planet, and what we need to do next… without preaching.

3. Coriolanus at the SGCNZ National Shakespeare
4 years in a row, we have been selected for the national finals of Shakespeare… and 4 brilliant years. 3 years national award winning. This year we picked up the award for “Most Co-operative School” which was even better. The performance was amazing, but hanging out with my students, the best.

2. Hamilton on the West End.
I spent a lot of money on this… and it was worth every single penny. If I had any fears that the Broadway show wouldn’t translate to an English audience… or if it didn’t live up to the hype. And then I bought all the things. So many things. And met the cast at the stage door. ARGH! SO AMAZE. And hanging with other fans. Brilliant.

1. Performing on the Globe Theatre Stage.
Honestly, I can’t even compare the experience. Amazing. To be selected, and then coached, and then perform Shakespeare on the Globe Theatre Stage in London, was amazing. Life changing.