on stage and screen<\/a>, including time behind the scenes.<\/p>\nToday he’s planning to do some tractor work, there’s fruit to harvest, maybe some trees to trim, and wood to stack.<\/p>\n
Getting outside, making things and problem-solving has been a healthy change and brought balance to his life, he said.<\/p>\n
“Doing all this physical stuff that you’re supposed to be doing – bending, crouching, lifting, reaching sideways, back and sideways.<\/p>\n
![\"William](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/4JU3M36_20260128_111718_jpg.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\nThe sheep keep the grass down and enjoy a pat.
\nPhoto: RNZ\/Sally Round\n<\/p>\n
“Because being an actor is, it is a physical profession, you know, like you always touch upon dance, especially when you’re a young actor.<\/p>\n
“Even the work I do off, offshore on stage, it is quite physical.”<\/p>\n
“The feeling of openness” has also brought a sense of relaxation to his acting work.<\/p>\n
“I don’t have that kind of need, of want anymore.<\/p>\n
“It’s to do with taking away the pressures of city living, city life. It’s added a relaxation to my work because I’ve got this to come home to.<\/p>\n
“So, I carry that with me, you know, into the audition room, for example.”<\/p>\n
![\"William](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/4JU3LWM_20260128_112114_jpg.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\nWilliam takes a bite of a nashi. It’s the first time he’s been here for the harvest as he works overseas several months a year.
\nPhoto: RNZ\/Sally Round\n<\/p>\n
Nicole, a jazz and rock singer, has also found her beat – preserving, pickling and provisioning their roadside stall.<\/p>\n
Chalking up the sign with the day’s offerings, she said she liked to give people a choice and fair prices.<\/p>\n
![\"Nicole](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/4JU3FOC_20260128_133548_jpg.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\nNicole Chesterman Kircher
\nPhoto: RNZ\/Sally Round\n<\/p>\n
“It’s hard times out there and so if we can make it affordable for people as well as not competing too much with the local businesses, it’s actually great in terms of giving and sharing.”<\/p>\n
She had always been keen to “live off the land” and found it gave her extra appreciation for country music.<\/p>\n
“I am really digging country music, but I have actually for a while.<\/p>\n
“More than ever now, having experienced country life for the past two years, I do understand, and really get, the depth of the love and the fun.”<\/p>\n
![\"Nicole](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/4JU3H05_20260128_130708_jpg.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\nThe chickens come in several varieties and help provision Nicole’s roadside stall.
\nPhoto: RNZ\/Sally Round\n<\/p>\n
William has a tongue-in-cheek take on his farm activities, often at the helm of his vintage farm bike, he calls the mudbug.<\/p>\n
“What I do is I come out on my motorbike and make a joke about mustering – ‘I’m going out to fetch the herd!’<\/p>\n
“Even the fact that I’ve got a farm bike is ridiculous.”<\/p>\n
With a shed housing a shiny red 1950s Massey Ferguson tractor – fit for a children’s book, fairytale sheep with curly horns and ringlets, and a Hansel and Gretel style cottage, the small property has a sniff of theatre about it too.<\/p>\n
Even the animals are characters, with names like Dirty Harry and Black Doris.<\/p>\n
It’s a joy to come home to, William said.<\/p>\n
“Honestly, I come out sometimes and I think somebody else must own this, and we’re just staying here.”<\/p>\n
Sign up for Ng\u0101 Pitopito K\u014drero<\/a>, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"William Kircher sitting on his 1950s Massey Ferguson tractor with “Black Doris” the chicken in his arms. Photo:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440515,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,47,156,409,111,43,139,69,49,46,44,45],"class_list":["post-440514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-audio","tag-current-affairs","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-podcasts","tag-public-radio","tag-radio-new-zealand","tag-rnz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440514","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=440514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"William](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/4JU3H8F_20260128_130209_jpg.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Nicole](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/4JU3G0G_20260128_132832_jpg.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n