Jul 24, 2013 Theatre
The students of St Gilbert’s College are putting on an illicit afterball even though one of their classmates recently died from a fall at an alcohol-fuelled bash a few weeks ago. The cast of 30, all 16 to 25 years old, have mined their own experiences for the work, which is directed by Eleanor Bishop and Robin Kerr and written by Eli Kent. We asked five of the actors to tell tales on their afterballs.
Photographed by Stephen Langdon.
Emily Campbell, 23 (far left)
“At my afterball, we were all getting on the bus to go and all drinking vodka out of Pump bottles and when we got there, there was a huge line to get in. It was at a racecourse in Hamilton. We really needed to go to the toilet but we couldn’t get in fast enough so a girlfriend of mine, we snuck behind this little shed and popped a squat and then just as we did that a bus turned a corner with the headlights, full of people, everyone from our school. It was probably the worst thing ever. Horrible. Too much Pump bottle vodka in the bus.”
How did it go after that ?
“It was good. It was crazy. It was one that was a bit naughty. It wasn’t just alcohol for 18-year-olds. It was an alcohol free-for-all.”
Was it illicit?
“The school was like, we know you’re going to have one but we want nothing to do with it and if you’re going to discuss it our ears are closed. It wasn’t so strict back then.
Caleb Wells, 18 (jumping)
“There’s not much to tell because I didn’t go to my ball. I’m cheap. It was really expensive and I didn’t like most of the people at my school. I just didn’t want to go to the ball. So I spent the night of the ball eating pizza and watching Boardwalk Empire. And I had a great night.”
Samantha Tippet, 17 (second from right)
“We all got bussed from town to my friend’s place in Karaka, which was on a farm. I’d never been there before. We took our heels off to walk up a gravel driveway at about one o’clock in the morning. Our feet had frostbite by the end of it. It was so cold.”
Worth it?
“Yeah, it was actually the best party I’ve ever been to, despite being an afterball.”
Why despite?
“Afterballs potentially get shut down. Or there’s heaps of drama. Or everyone’s tired. But this one was so good because everyone was still amped because the drive was 40 minutes out to Karaka and we were all on the party bus having a fab time. We got there and everyone started drinking straightaway, but it was all good. Because it was in Karaka, noise control got to us at 2am on the phone. They left Auckland city and got there at like 4.30. And we all tented in the backyard in about 15 pup tents. There were 60 people.”
When was this?
“Last Friday.”
Amandeep Singh, 18 (second from left) and Kynan Johnson-Jones, 18 (far right)
Singh: “We just had a small afterball at someone’s house.”
Johnson-Jones: “Once word got out, everyone just bombarded. I remember one of the teachers dropped off a couple of students.”
Was it more fun than the ball?
Johnson-Jones: “No, the ball was way better.”
Was it secret?
Singh: “The school said if it was a planned illegal afterball like someone trying to do a rave then they couldn’t do it. But because it was small at someone’s house with the parents there then we were allowed to.”
First published Metro, July 2013.
