Dilworth Drama Students recently delivered stunning performances at the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival and Competition (SGCNZ), winning first place in highly competitive Auckland Central Regional Competition and selected for the National Festival. SGCNZ holds 24 Festivals nationwide in which secondary-age students perform short scenes from Shakespeare's plays.
In a new take on Shakespeare, Year 12 students Micah Uhila, Logan Brown, Jesse Tima, Deepak Chandra, and Sinclair Strickland gave a fantastic comedic, slapstick performance as the ‘Mechanicals’ in Midsummer Night’s Dream—the judges called it “Comic gold.”
Changing the pace to the darker, dramatic world of Othello, Dilworth gained second place in the 15-minute category with a combined Dilworth/ Diocesan performance. Aliki Wilson-Lousi performed Othello, which the judges called “Utterly brilliant and completely raw”.
The famous Brutus, Mark Anthony, and Cassius scene from Shakespeare’s dramatic work Julius Caesar came next. Dilworth’s Drama teacher, Ms Wilson, said she was stunned by the quality of Micah, Aliki and Deepak’s oratory, which she called “A whole other level of skill!”. The judges referred to Micah’s portrayal of Brutus as “Flawless”, Deepak’s audience interaction as “Brilliant“, and Aliki as giving “Another spectacular performance”. Unfortunately, the piece ran 34 seconds over the required time and could not be considered for the top prize. Nothing, however, can be taken away from the performance, which was highly praised by the judges.
The Most Outstanding Individual Actor award went to Dilworth’s own Aliki Wilson-Lousi - the top scholar in New Zealand for Drama in 2024. This win gives him direct entry into the National Secondary Schools Shakespeare Company and the incredible opportunity to perform overseas at the Globe Theatre in London. The judges commented that when Aliki performed Othello, they were stunned by this young man’s performance and thought it must be a fluke, but then he came out again, two days later as Mark Anthony and flawed them all over again with another stunning performance.
Dilworth’s success didn’t stop there; Micah Uhila won Best Supporting Actor in a Tragedy. The judges said his portrayal of Brutus was “Flawless”. Micah was also runner-up in the Most Outstanding Actor Award, an excellent result for him as a Year 12 student. These incredible young actors now go on to perform at the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival National Finals in Wellington in June. Aliki will also perform with the National Secondary Schools Shakespeare Company in October.
Huge congratulations to our Dilworth actors and their teacher, Ms Patrice Wilson.
