Romeo & Juliet

SGCNZ Primarily Playing with Shakespeare 2026

Tamariki play Shakespeare

Children loving playing with Shakespeare? Seeing is believing! 

“It was really fun practising and during the actual performance it was fun seeing how the story plays out.” – Cassius from last year’s Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ’s Primarily Playing with Shakespeare (SGCNZ PPWS 2025)

It was those participants who chose Romeo & Juliet for this year. The hour-long version of this play, ending prior to the tomb scene, therefore omitting what follows, will be performed by some 230 children between 5 and 13. Having been given their 2 scenes each, the 10 schools involved this year are busy rehearsing in their own venues, with an SGCNZ appointed co-Director/Mentor, Amalia Calder, visiting them 2 or 3 times to work with the teachers.

The first of the culminating public performances will be on Friday 6 November from 12.30-1.30pm in Tawhiri Warehouse, Newtown, Wellington, with almost 120 tamariki from: Crofton Downs Primary School, Karori West Normal School, Miramar North School, Northland Primary School and Ridgway School, interspersed by the Narrator, filling in the gaps.

The second is on  Wednesday 11 November at VUW Memorial Theatre, Wellington, at which another approximately 110 tamariki from Clifton Terrace Model School, Kenakena School, Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, Te Aro School and Te Kura o Wilford will perform their renditions of the scenes.

With Shakespeare in the Education System in various machinations now, SGCNZ helps contribute to benefit their education. Many of the children express how much they enjoy finding out the meanings of the words and discovering how many Shakespeare invented and coined. Then there are phrases they realise they say and hear in common usage, such as “green-eyed monsters”, “fair is foul”, “this is the winter of our discontent” – or paraphrased to “summer”  or “spring”… They have fun with the puns and Shakespeare’s insults. They enjoy delving into resource material and creating rehearsal versions in modern language. Overheard: “Oh, the characters are just having conversations like us!”

With some young people already dealing with various issues, this is the ideal time to build their self-confidence. Collaboration is vital in plays, with full inclusion and integration of ideas. 
“Discovering the importance of eye-focus with each other and the audience, engaging through listening, interaction and reaction are all exceptionally important skills to gain from this young age,” said SGCNZ CEO, Dawn Sanders, “Getting them off screens and instead, creating the personae of their roles, provide invaluable opportunities for the tamariki at this age and stage of their development,”

Being held over lunchtime, the performances are perfectly timed for parents, grandparents, younger siblings, peers from their own and other schools, as well as general public. The venues are fully accessible.

Children’s comments from last year: 

“It was really fun. I really liked the way Shakespeare wrote and the language he used.” – Annabella

“I personally liked being able to perform on stage, but as a background character, despite not having a major role, it was super interesting to see the action on stage. There were some funny moments, other dramatic. It was what made my Shakespeare experience enjoyable.” - Sophia

Bookings are available through Eventfinda.