LAURA'S BACKYARD DRAMA

The theatre star’s taking The Bard's work to a familiar venue

- Aroha Awarau

It’s fitting that Kiwi theatre company owner and passionate William Shakespeare lover Laura Irish happened to be in the Taranaki town of Stratford for the Weekly’s photoshoot.

With a strong connection to the famous playwright, Stratford has named 67 streets after his characters and its glockenspiel clock tower plays the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet four times a day.

Laura, 41, who was there as a producer and actor for a tour of Romeo and Juliet, is excited to be in a town that celebrates The Bard because Laura’s love of Shakespeare helped her overcome depression.

Growing up in a small town in Illinois in the US, she remembers the day when she was first introduced to Shakespeare and discovered the joy of acting.

“I did my first Shakespeare play when I was 11,” she recalls. “I found an outlet where I could be myself and make friends with other actors, and realised there were people like me.”

In 2008, she moved to Nelson with her former partner and son Elijah, 16, and later gave birth to Ivie, now nine. She carved out a successful career as a theatre producer, actor and festival organiser.