'Cancer nearly wrecked my West End dream'

Cancer nearly wrecked Jarryd Nurden's dream of performing in the West End

An actor who moved from South Africa to London to perform in the West End has revealed how cancer nearly wrecked his dream.

Jarryd Nurden, from the coastal KwaZulu-Natal province, spent six months fighting his way back to the stage after having half his lung removed.

After selling everything to to get to London, the 34-year-old was diagnosed with a rare cancer called primary malignant neuroendocrine neoplasm of the lung (atypical carcinoid).

He needed surgery to remove the lower lobe of his left lung to get rid of it. Jarryd, who lives in Balham, in Wandsworth, south-west London, had no idea if he would ever perform again.

He said: "When I had that phone call, that's when my world crashed.

"Up until that point, I had made plans on how to survive, but because this was now taking me out of the picture for God knows how long, I was like, 'I'm properly screwed'.

After his diagnosis he needed surgery to remove the lower lobe of his left lung

"I came to this country with no savings. It's very much been hand to mouth. I didn't know what to do."

Arriving in London in October 2021, Jarryd had two West End auditions waiting for him.

He secured what would have been his first West End role, in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella in spring 2022.

The show closed early so the gig never happened, but he secured a role in a Christmas 2022 panto.

That winter, Jarryd came down with what he thought was flu. He continued his role while doctors investigated further.

In January 2023, he took a call from his agent, and was told he had a role in We Will Rock You – his first big West End part.

The same day doctors discovered a tumour.

Keyhole surgery was needed to remove it and determine if it was benign or cancerous.

It was cancerous.

Jarryd said the phone call to tell him of his plight was like "being underwater"

"That phone call I've always described as being underwater," Jarryd said. "Everything just slows down, and you're like: 'Oh, I have cancer.'

"I don't drink, I don't smoke, I work really hard. How's this happening?"

Even though the main tumour had been removed, Jarryd was told some cancerous cells remained.

Chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery to remove the lower lobe of his lung were the options.

In October 2023 Jarryd underwent surgery.

He said: "It was touch and go at one point. And then I just wasn't getting better. It was going on for four months in the hospital.

"I had to have a second open surgery to clear infections. It was hell."

Terrified he would never sing or dance again, he said he "never experienced so much pain in all my life."

Three months after his last operation, Jarryd was back on stage as Mary Sunshine

Jarryd needed months of rest and a chest drain due to a fistula - an abnormal opening between two parts of the body - in his chest.

He had an offer to perform in the international tour of Chicago but had to turn it down.

In July last year he needed another operation, to put stents into the fistula, and he was still unable to work.

But when Jarryd was offered a role in Chicago again, this time for a September run in China, he assured them he would be ready.

Three months after his last operation he was on stage as Mary Sunshine.

He said: "The challenge was intense. It was a one-day rehearsal in London. It was flying to the other side of the world, landing, two-hour rehearsal, back on stage. In the tightest clothing as well."

He felt "immense gratitude" at being back on stage.

"When you go through something very life-changing, you stop sweating the small stuff."