make History for Company Theatre

Schooldays on stage... actors

(left to right) Emre Logan-Erdi, Aedan Ward, Nicholas Curry, Jesse Park, Raine Gilchrist, Lucus Laurent and Aidan Allen

Curry, who has gone on from Westlake to a conjoint law-and-music degree from the University of Auckland, says having good teachers “almost sets you up for life”.

Later this year, he will head to the UK for masters studies in musical theatre at the Guildford School of Acting.

Aedan is also keen on musical theatre and has a production he has penned in the pipeline (see interview, pages 18-19). “I hope to be a writer in future,” he says.

Emre and Jesse are both keen on acting. Emre says that after Toi Whakaari/New Zealand Drama School or university he wants to head overseas to act in movies or on the stage.

As a teacher, Smith hopes to have a lasting impact on her students, rather than being seen as someone going through the motions.

The play touches on how this can happen. Director Sampson, who was once a teacher herself, is proof this is possible. “I’ve had a former pupil get in touch and suggest a coffee 30 years later,” she says.

• The History Boys, by Company Theatre, 6-20 May, at the Rose Centre. Tickets through iticket.co.nz