The Star: July 27, 2017

The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday July 27 2017 3
News
West End actor returns to city
One-man show
makes light of
deportation
• By Georgia O’Connor-Harding
BUILDING AN arts career on
London’s West End is a far cry
from reality for most – but not
for Christchurch performer Nic
Kyle.
Taken under Broadway star
Elaine Paige’s wing, Kyle, 30,
led a soaring four-year stint,
performing in
sell-out shows in
one of the biggest
commercial
theatre scenes in
the world.
Nic Kyle
But all came to
abrupt halt, when
the actor, who
grew up in Ilam, found himself
being deported.
Kyle was in the United
Kingdom for two years before
deciding to get a defacto visa.
“I was seeing an English girl
and we decided to go into a
partner defacto visa which in
hindsight was probably not a
good idea,” he said.
THe relationship broke up but
Kyle decided to keep the visa.
THe visa issue was flagged
when Kyle was being checked
through Gatwick Airport after a
short trip to Portugal.
“Getting deported was
probably the worse thing that
ever happened in my life . . .
they took my passport off me,
took my phone off me, locked
me in a holding cell,” he said.
Kyle was locked away
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: Nic Kyle as King Arthur in The English Theatre Frankfurt’s production
of Spamalot. Right – Kyle with his girlfriend Sophie Schmidt. ​
from midnight to 9am in the
morning and given five days to
get out of London.
He took off to Germany,
landing the lead role in The
English Theatre Frankfurt’s
production of Spamalot before
heading home to Christchurch
where he has been for the past
month.
It was in Germany where he
met his girlfriend Canadian
Sophie Schmidt, a professional
football player who is a
midfielder for FFC Frankfurt in
the German national league.
Kyle said meeting Schmidt
was a complete coincidence
as both her club and The
English Theatre Frankfurt was
sponsored by the same bank.
“THe team always come to
the show every year and have a
mix and mingle with the cast
afterwards and we always
go to their game the week
afterwards,” he said.
Now he is back in
Christchurch, Kyle will make
light of getting kicked out of the
UK his original one-man show
Deported.
For the second element of
the show, he has reigned in city
performers Matt Hudson and
Jack Marshall to take part in
dark comedy Coffin.
Back in London Kyle
performed in the sell-out
premier on West End for the
show.
He was given the rights to
perform the show after writer
Elliott Langsdon found out he
was deported.
Kyle will be heading back
to Europe to travel with his
girlfriend before he decides
what to do next. “I am not
happy I got deported but it has
worked out really well . . . if I
hadn’t, would I had ever met
Sophie? Who knows?” he said.
Kyle’s career on West End
began after he sung for Paige
during her New Zealand
tour.
“I was going to move to
Melbourne and she was like
no you are talking s***. I am
going to help get you to London
. . . and she helped get me an
agent,” he said.
•Coffin and Deported will
be performed at Christ’s
College Old Boys’ Theatre
on Saturday and Sunday.
To book tickets, go to The
Court Theatre website.
Facebook, Twitter plan to track illness outbreaks
•From page 1
“Sourcing information that
helps is going to be potentially
useful.”
But he said the main issue
would be whether the information
had any validity.
CDHB board member
Andrew Dickerson said it was
worth further research.
But he said there could be a
risk of self diagnosis if taking
data from social media.
He said school absentee
numbers would be a really good
indicator.
Age Concern Canterbury chief
executive Simon Templeton said
the main benefit for the elderly
population would be to detect
influenza.
“We know it’s a killer.”
He said looking into
being able to use trends and
unconventional data was
wise.
The ministry is currently
running a survey on its website
asking people if they have
posted on social media about
themselves or family members’
illnesses.
In Brief
RUGBY INVESTIGATION
A Canterbury Rugby Football
Union investigation into the
actions of West Melton under-14.5s
rugby coach Amanda Tomlinson
at a match this month has been put
on hold while police investigate. A
complaint was made alleging she
verbally and physically abused a
young Lincoln Rugby Club player
after the match on July 8. Senior
Sergeant Peter Stills said yesterday
police were still investigating the
incident. The CRFU investigation
into the complaint has been put on
hold, but a separate investigation
into an altercation between players
during the game that day may still
go ahead.
NEW PARKING RULES
A new bylaw under development
may ban parking on grass berms,
cultivated areas and gardens. City
council head of strategic policy
Helen Beaumont said, under the
current rules, enforcement officers
can fine people for parking on
berms, but only where there were
‘no parking’ signs, or if the berm
was damaged. However, under the
proposed new Traffic and Parking
Bylaw, parking on all berms would
be prohibited. The changes would
go out for public consultation.
•Roadside vehicle sale ban, p6
HAREWOOD BOTTLE STORE
Residents have been successful in
their fight to stop a liquor store
opening in Harewood. The controversial
application by Samarth
Rajeshkumar Limbachiya to open
a liquor store at 2a and 2b Trafford
St has been declined by the city
council’s district licensing committee.
In its report, the committee
said granting the licence would be
detrimental to the neighbourhood
so the application was declined.
WOOLSTON CUT DREDGING
A $2.3 million project to dredge
the Woolston Cut will begin
in October. City council land
drainage manager Keith Davison
said the cut was full of silt and
liquefaction. It had not been
dredged since it was built in the
1980s to prevent flooding in the
lower Heathcote River area.
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