{"id":366137,"date":"2026-04-06T10:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T10:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/366137\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T10:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T10:52:14","slug":"kristin-paulse-lead-role-juliet-new-zealand-homecoming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/366137\/","title":{"rendered":"Kristin Paulse lead role & Juliet New Zealand homecoming"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rising musical theatre<\/a> star Kristin Paulse is living her dream. For as long as she can remember, she hoped for a life on the stage. Now she is building a dazzling career in Australia, with recent roles including a lead performance at the iconic Sydney Opera House.<\/p>\n

Yet behind the ovations, Kristin admits that each success has meant she is further from home and from those she loves.<\/p>\n

\u201cA real blessing and privilege of this job is that I get to travel so much and really integrate into a place,\u201d the 27-year-old tells. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut ironically, it\u2019s lonely. All the people who you really love and care about are so far away, and they\u2019re always going to be so far away.\u201d <\/p>\n

That distance has become especially pronounced, with her family facing new milestones without her.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents are getting older \u2013 my father wasn\u2019t doing very well at the end of last year, but he\u2019s better now,\u201d she explains. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd my niece just started kindy, and I\u2019m missing that moment. I have to wait for updates. Things like that are really hard. You watch life go on without you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" (Credit: Emily Chalk.)<\/p>\n

Ambition and family fuel her journey<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s a tough pill to swallow, Kristin admits her ambition \u2013 along with the unwavering support of her family from afar \u2013 keeps her focused.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy drive is bigger than that,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything, I want to scoop up everyone and bring them with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Music has always been at the heart of Kristin\u2019s world. Growing up in South Africa, her family was very involved in the church, so they sang a lot of gospel music and were part of the choir. When she was seven, her parents decided to emigrate to New Zealand in search of a better life. She recalls how her younger self didn\u2019t quite understand the magnitude of the move. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t clock that I was moving countries,\u201d Kristin tells. <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I was going to a different part of South Africa. It was a bit of a culture shock. \u201cIt was difficult communicating with other kids because I had a really strong accent at the time
and I played different games than everyone else. I didn\u2019t know how to relate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adjusting to a new home through music<\/p>\n

As she adjusted to her new home, she found comfort in music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d walk around school singing to myself, making up little songs. I never felt sad or lonely \u2013 I was in my own little bubble,\u201d Kristin shares.<\/p>\n

While her parents went to every production she performed in during school, they were adamant that she attend university so she would have a \u201creal job\u201d.<\/p>\n

Kristin agreed, embarking on a law degree. But she never stopped performing and, alongside her studies, the opportunities grew. The turning point came when she attended a programme run by Broadway industry professionals. Her talent impressed them so much that she earned one of four coveted spots to perform in their annual showcase in New York in 2018.<\/p>\n

Surrounded by some of the most skilled young artists from around the globe, Kristin realised she compared well to them and it lit a fire in her belly.<\/p>\n

\"\"Beyond Shakespeare: Kristin with the cast of & Juliet.<\/p>\n

A life-changing moment on stage<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds clich\u00e9d, but it changed my life,\u201d she enthuses. <\/p>\n

\u201cSomething like that makes or breaks you. It woke up this hunger in me, where I thought, \u2018This is possible.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Now she lives and works full-time in Australia. While she\u2019s excited by the credits she\u2019s racking up, Kristin says the most special part of it all is that her parents can see just how far her talent will take her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re so proud,\u201d she smiles. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was three years into my law degree when my dad was like, \u2018If this is something you want to pursue, don\u2019t worry about us, you belong on stage.\u2019 I thought, \u2018Thanks, but I already have the debt!\u2019 But I appreciated it \u2013 it was really cool validation from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Returning home to New Zealand<\/p>\n

This month, she returns to the New Zealand stage for the first time in five years to play the lead in jukebox musical & Juliet, which imagines the famous character\u2019s future if she hadn\u2019t died
with her beloved Romeo.<\/p>\n

Although Kristin is no stranger to performing for large crowds overseas, she says it will be emotional knowing that, for the first time, in the audience will be the people she loves most.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could never have imagined I\u2019d actually be doing this,\u201d she smiles. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how I\u2019m going to prepare myself to have so many people I know and love in the audience. I\u2019m always performing to strangers.\u201d<\/p>\n

& Juliet tours in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch from April 9 to June 13. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit gntproductions.co.nz\/and-juliet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Rebekah\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProfile
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRebekah Hebenton\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Rebekah Hebenton is a writer for the New Zealand Woman\u2019s Weekly, where she shares the stories of inspiring Kiwi women and gets the inside scoop from your favourite local celebs. A pop culture enthusiast through and through, you\u2019ll usually find her front row at a theatre show, or deep into a binge-watch of the next big series long before it hits your radar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rising musical theatre star Kristin Paulse is living her dream. For as long as she can remember, she…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":366138,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5813,21846,51028,192273,192274,1767,111,43,139,69,7069],"class_list":{"0":"post-366137","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-acting","9":"tag-broadway","10":"tag-juliet","11":"tag-kristin-paulse","12":"tag-musical-theatre","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-newzealand","17":"tag-nz","18":"tag-theatre"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}