People gather to watch the Stratford glockenspiel perform Romeo and Juliet. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
The glockenspiel tower in Stratford, Taranaki's Shakespeare town, is out of order.
The Stratford-revered glockenspiel has stood proud in the main street, Broadway, since it officially opened in 1996, but it had stopped working over the weekend.
Usually it performs a scene of Shakespeare's most famous star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, emerging for the balcony scene, reaffirming their vows of love, four times a day for about five minutes, after the hour chimes at 10am, 1pm, 3pm and 7pm.
Stratford District deputy mayor Min McKay said it was a large tourist attraction.
Scenes from Romeo and Juliet are played out by wooden figures in Stratford's glockenspiel clock tower four times a day. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
"It's iconic to Stratford and Taranaki in general," she said.
"People would think of the glockenspiel when they think of Stratford.
"I don't think there's ever been a time where I've been around the tower with the songs going off that there wasn't someone or a few people watching from the road."
She did not know the reason why it had stopped but hoped an engineer would check it on Tuesday.
Stratford is the sister city of Stratford Upon Avon, in the United Kingdom, which is the birthplace of Shakespeare.
The life-size figures were created by Nigel Ogel, owner/curator of Tawhiti Museum, near Hawera.
