Singer Lauren Marshall
out of prolonged quarantine
Lauren Marshall is technically allowed to go outside, to return to the streets of Napier.
But after four rounds of 14-day quarantine in four separate countries, her Hawke's Bay-based parents have asked her to do another for good luck.
Marshall, who was making a living as a cruise ship performerwhen the pandemic began to sweep through her ship and around the globe, flew into Hawke's Bay last week and has decided to stay at Quest Napier, at least for the time being.
"It might seem a little crazy, but it's at my family's request," she said.
"My parents live around a lot of elderly people and my mother is actively looking after my elderly grandparents.
Marshall, 28, was aboard the Covid-positive Celebrity Eclipse cruise ship that was stranded for months off the coast of San Diego, California, unable to dock except for supplies.
She was then sent by her employers on a roundabout trip, via Barbados, to the United Kingdom, where she felt she had a better chance of finding a flight back to New Zealand.
Her 14-day isolation extended to almost a month aboard the Empress of the Seas ship before finding flights home to Auckland, with stops in Doha and Melbourne.
The Hawke's Bay entertainer is back in New Zealand after being stuck on cruise ships since March. Photo / Supplied
Marshall said quarantine in England was the hardest of the set.
"I'd already been moved across the world twice and been promised a flight home – only to be put into a room that wasn't as nice as the previous ones and I wasn't even allowed out to walk," she said.
"I soon found out that the flight wasn't going to happen, so getting less freedom and realising there was devastating. That was the only time I considered making a run for it."
But she said the risk of having to go into another round of quarantine soon helped dismiss the thoughts of a sneaky getaway.
Marshall, who has been performing since primary school, attended the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art (NASDA0 after dabbling in everything from church singing to barbershop quartets.
"I could've done something academic, but I went to drama school in Christchurch to study musical theatre and acting, alongside working on my own music," she said.
"I used to listen to the radio and sing along to R&B, soul, pop – everything – which all influenced my music today.
"The industry is one of those where you don't always know where you're going, don't always have a job, don't always have something stable but you do it anyway."
After auditioning for theme parks and cruise ships while living in Melbourne, Marshall soon got the bug for life on the sea.
"Performing has always been the most natural thing for me," she said. "And because the cruise ship lifestyle is so much fun, you end up just keeping on doing it.
"On cruise ships, we are used to being in small spaces and following strict rules in terms of health and safety, but watching my friends leave one at a time was hard during this all."
With eyes firmly set on a career in the entertainment industry, Marshall is looking to welcome a big break soon.
"My partner, who's a music producer, and I were working on music together. But he lives in South America, so I can't get to him at the moment," she said.
"I'd love to get to the US or UK and work, or even one more ship season. I've also written two shows that I'd like to perform."
Marshall added: "The goal is to take music and performing to the next level, but who knows how long that will take. It's nice to have this time to figure it all out."
