Western News: September 17, 2019

8 Tuesday September 17 2019
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
WESTERN NEWS
News
Russley pupils to star in Miss Saigon production
• By Georgia O’Connor-Harding
RISING STARS: Children cast to star in Showbiz Christchurch’s production of Miss Saigon with
the show’s leading performers Tina Bergantinos-Panlilio and Marcus Rivera.
RUSSLEY PRIMARY School
pupils will star in one of the
most iconic scenes in a major
musical to be staged at the Isaac
Theatre Royal this month.
Pupils of predominantly
Chinese, Japanese, Korean, NZ
European, NZ Chinese and
Dutch descent have been cast to
perform in Showbiz Christchurch’s
Miss Saigon.
As part of the lead-up to the
show, last week, the show’s lead
performers Marcus Rivera and
Tina Bergantinos-Panlilio travelled
out to the primary school to
sing with the children involved
in the show as part of their
school assembly.
Set during the Vietnam War,
the musical tells the story of
Vietnamese woman Kim and
American soldier Chris who fall
in love but are separated at the
end of the war in 1975.
The pupils aged between seven
and 11 have been cast as “evacuation
children” which means they
will appear on stage in the climactic
scene when Kim and Chris are
parted as the last Americans are
evacuated out of Saigon.
Showbiz marketing manager
Wendy Riley said the evacuation
scene is based on real events and
is likely one of the most “spectacular”
scenes as model “Huey”
is flown on stage.
“Huey” is the nickname for a
utility military helicopter Bell
UH-1 Iroquois which was used
in the Vietnam War evacuations.
In the 2009 New Zealand
premiere of Miss Saigon,
performed by Showbiz
Christchurch, Don Gillanders, of
Darfield, had just three days to
build the helicopter which will
be used in this production.
As part of the auditioning
process for the show, children
were placed in groups and given
instructions on different games
to play.
They were then asked to do
tasks such as colouring-in while
there were distractions around
them in a test to see if they could
maintain their focus.
The successful children were
chosen based on their willingness
to commit to the action
and their ability to focus around
distractions.
Four children aged between
five and six have also been cast to
play the role of Tam – the son of
Chris and Kim.
Due to the musical containing
mature themes robust management
is in place to ensure the
children are shielded from the
material.
All children in the cast are
in the care of chaperones at all
times.
Director Stephen Robertson
has taken a particular approach
to directing the children, similar
to the “game” approach in the
auditions so they are never party
to the full extent of the meaning
of the scenes they are in.
The children will also be
alternated each night throughout
the show’s season to ensure they
are not overtaxed or tired.
•Miss Saigon opens on
September 27. To book
tickets go to https://www.
showbiz.org.nz/
INTRODUCING
Narinder Singh Warraich
Community Board Candidate
Halswell Ward
YALDHURST AREA SPEED REVIEWS
I take this opportunity to introduce myself
to you all as one of the Candidates in the Local
body elections 2019.
My name is Narinder Singh Warraich and I am
standing for the Community board elections for
Halswell Christchurch.
I migrated from India to New Zealand in
2009 after completing my bachelor’s in political
science. It has since then become home for me.
Currently, I am residing in Wigram skies with
my lovely wife and our two-year-old son. My
family has been a part of local politics in India for
decades.
During my upbringing, my parents taught me
the importance of high moral values in a person’s
life. I believe my parents’ guidance has made me
a person with strong ethics. I have always been
closely involved as a volunteer and organiser
in many community events. I am a man with
community heart.
Being an entrepreneur, I support economic
growth but not at the cost of our natural
environment. I believe that New Zealand’s
future progress depends on our ability to adapt
technologically. A central element to this is
educating our young people with technical skills.
This is my firm belief that we need more
diversity in every level of governance in our
country, to initiate better conversation and
dialogues between our diverse communities.
I always support social and environmental
justice. I am proud to say that I am a white
ribbon ambassador and I stand against domestic
violence.
Given a chance, as a community board
member, I will act with transparency and will
work for the welfare of all communities. I will
focus on various aspects such as protecting our
precious water, stabilising the property rates
and stopping water
bottling. Since I
believe in taking real
action on climate change, I will engage the public
in conservation programmes. I would also focus
on road safety in Halswell area.
As soon as I see any problem, I focus on
coming up with a solution. During my recent
door knocking sessions, I got to know about
the rising rate of burglaries in Wigram and
Halswell area during the last couple of months.
I approached the local MP and Minister Hon.
Megan Woods to take a real action on it. I
organised a Community Safety Meeting with
the assistance of councillor Anne Galloway and
another The People’s Choice community board
candidate Andrei Moore. Hornby Community
Patrol, Neighbourhood Watch and local police
also attended this fruitful meeting. Eventually,
we came up with several safety measures and
tangible solutions.
In addition to this, I believe that selling
our city’s assets is not in our best interest
as ratepayers. These assets are strategically
important and generate income that helps us
keep rates in check. We can be proud our city
has held onto assets built up over generations
and I believe it is our best interests to keep them
in all our ownership.
I believe my academic qualifications in
political science, my passion for community,
my strong entrepreneurial attributes and my
basic understanding of
politics make me a strong
and reliable candidate
for Halswell Community
Board.
Together we can make a
difference.
Authorised by J McLellan, 6 Braddon St, Christchurch
Have your say
on safer speeds
Public consultation 2–30 September 2019
The NZ Transport Agency and the Christchurch City Council are proposing
safer speed limits in the Yaldhurst area, including on State Highway 73.
Before we make a decision we want to hear from you.
We want to hear from you
Find out more and make a
formal submission at
ccc.govt.nz/haveyoursay
Or, if you’d like us to send
you a consultation form,
call 03 941 8793