He fell in love with the stage at the age of four when he took part in a variety show in England. Now 87 years old and hundreds of stage, TV and film appearances later, Forest Lake Gardens resident, Michael Easther, is still entertaining audiences with his outstanding performances.

His latest claim to fame is as the villainous lead in the New Zealand movie, Red on the Green, which was a finalist at the 2015 Tropfest New Zealand, the world’s largest short film festival. Red on the Green is a charming story about a wronged lawn bowls champion who returns to his club to claim back his rightful trophy from the crooked committee.

Michael developed his acting skills at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School, which every year staged a Gilbert and Sullivan opera. His acting hobby was cut short when he graduated as a GP; a 24 hour, 7 day a week job in those days. The introduction of a sensible roster system allowed him to get back on stage, firstly in a local production of Oliver, put on with teachers and parents at Southwell School, followed by a part in Annie, with the Hamilton Amateur Operatic Society.

Over the years, he was involved in up to 100 shows, including 36 shows with the Operatic, two of them with Malvina Major.  He has performed professionally on television in Hercules and Forgotten General, as well as in quite a few advertisements. He has also helped out in theatre productions at Waikato University and Wintec.

And if that wasn’t enough, Michael has authored several books and has been writing a weekly satirical verse called Flim Flam for the Waikato Times for the past 15 years. He is also a crossword guru and has been compiling the Cryptic crossword for the Waikato Times for over 35 years as well as for 20 other outlets, including three in Australia.

As a side branch to his acting, Michael practices hypnotherapy. One of his biggest accomplishments was providing the anaesthetic (by hypnosis) for a patient with drug problems during a major orthopedic surgery, the only time this has been done in New Zealand.

Now resident at Forest Lake Gardens retirement village, Michael was awarded the Hamilton Civic Award in 2010 for his contribution to the Arts.