By Helen Musa

Canberra’s secondary colleges have long produced exceptional theatre talent, and this tradition continues in the case of recent Year 12 graduate from Narrabundah College, Wajanoah Donohue.

As we reported recently, Donohue, now 18, was selected from 88 students across the country for the week-long John Bell Scholarship program at Bell Shakespeare, joining three other students on an intensive journey to Sydney. 

Hot on the heels of this success came more good news, with Donohue selected for the theatre course at the Victorian College of the Arts, where a phone call from the head of theatre confirmed that the first semester will see the cohort combining classes with the acting students.

Donohue is a relative newcomer to Canberra, having arrived with family in 2024. Enrolling at Narrabundah College, already famous for its theatre program, proved fortunate, with the opportunity to work with drama teacher Rachel Pengilly, also a playwright and director. 

Spotting a notice on the school’s digital noticeboard, Donohue auditioned for Chris Baldock’s production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time last year and, after two outstanding auditions, shared the lead role of Christopher Boone with Ethan Wiggin.

Christopher is 15-years-old and Donohue observes that playing that age will not be possible for much longer. Not to worry, the world awaits.

Regarding the Bell Scholarship, Donohue admits to auditioning once before without success, but in the theatre world it often pays to try again. After a combined workshop and audition facilitated by Canberra Youth Theatre, which has a relationship with Bell Shakespeare, selection followed.

Donohue and the other scholarship recipients were accommodated by Bell Shakespeare at a hotel in North Sydney, and spent a happy week bookended by travel days, working at Bell Shakespeare’s headquarters in Walsh Bay. During the program, Donohue worked with several Bell Shakespeare teaching artists in workshops designed specifically for the scholarship winners.

Text work was led by Emily Edwards, resident artist in education, followed by voice work with Jack Starkey-Gill, who is also responsible for vocal preparation on the forthcoming Bell Shakespeare production of Julius Caesar. 

Particularly exciting was a session with Tim Dashwood, the current fight and movement director for Julius Caesar. 

Best of all, the students performed selected monologues for John Bell, founder of Bell Shakespeare, who provided detailed feedback. Donohue chose one of Benedick’s speeches from Much Ado About Nothing.

“It was really cool,” Donohue says. “John Bell is insanely knowledgeable about every aspect of Shakespeare and drama.” 

Having Bell critique the monologues was extraordinary because of that in-depth understanding of character and text. “When you’re doing a monologue you just do it, but John Bell was so on the ball and contributed so much detail.”

The experience was made more demanding by the fact that the monologue had been learned three months before the scholarship took place, with some elements unlearned along the way. “John called me out on some of what I had unlearned,” Donohue says.

Another highlight was the opportunity to sit in on rehearsals for the upcoming Julius Caesar, directed by Peter Evans, artistic director of Bell Shakespeare. 

“It was really cool to see the actors working with the director developing scenes, starting with Act One, Scene One, a street scene where Julius Caesar has just returned from slaughter. It was so interesting to see how knowledgeable the actors are about their roles and how they fit themselves into the work,” Donohue says.

“The big thing I learned was that although they’re working with traditional material because it’s Shakespeare, they still hold themselves to account so they can relate to the stories and bring their own lives into them. It was so cool.”

Bell Shakespeare’s strong focus on education also made an impression.

“The way they deal with text is really interesting. I was doubtful about this because of the way Shakespeare is often taught in schools,” although at Narrabundah they studied text through acting, which put them one step ahead.

As a performer, Donohue finds it difficult to fully understand and feel a text without seeing it on stage, especially Shakespeare. 

“The interaction between the characters means you need a deep understanding of detail. That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed studying Shakespeare,” Donohue says.

“I feel really grateful for the experience Bell Shakespeare has given me.

“The biggest thing was feeling some recognition for the work I’ve been putting into my craft, and getting to meet a bunch of amazing people who are so passionate about what they do.”