Who is Lucy Durack?
An actress currently playing Glinda the Good Witch in the musical Wicked and who has recently filmed Now Add Honey with Robyn Butler, Portia De Rossi and Hamish Blake (due for release in 2015).
What would you do differently to what you do now?
I learnt the guitar, piano and violin for relatively short stints as a child, I wish I had stuck to at least one for a significant amount of time so I could play for fun and also at family Christmas Carols.
Who inspires you and why?
Funny, kind, fun and smart people who work hard at things they are passionate about and are lovely to the people around them. People like my grandparents, my mum and dad, my husband, Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope and, not that I’ve met them, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, as I feel that they would totally fit the above brief as well.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
As in a superpower? If that is the case, I would make sure people had lots of love, enough money to live comfortably, a dream in their heart, enough to eat and were able to have a good, hard laugh every day. If I have misunderstood the question and I am not allowed said superpowers, I would, and hopefully will, just try to do my best to give back, to be as kind to everyone as I can be (as the saying goes; Be kind, everyone is fighting a hard battle). And I’d instagram as many happy and cute photos of my dog, Takse – as he is an instant mood lifter.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
New York! My husband and I holidayed there at the end of last year and had the most fun and exciting time! There is so much going on creatively and the buzz is infectious. Every time I go there it honestly surpasses all my very high expectations. It is also where most of the romantic comedies in the 90’s were set, so if you walk around there, especially at Christmas time with Harry Connick Jr playing in your headphones, you can pretend you are Meg Ryan.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
Definitely the Opera Bar, it is so ‘in your face’ spectacular and kind of boastful but so beautiful and grand that you don’t even care. And you can walk up stairs and see a live performance if you wish and you can drink there. What’s not to love?
What are you currently reading?
I recently read and LOVED Bonkers by Jennifer Saunders. It was super funny and really lovely and I am currently waiting for Poking A Dead Frog by Mike Sacks to arrive at Stage Door. One of the greatest things about working in a theatre is having a stage door to receive all your online purchases!
What are you currently listening to?
I am loving anything by Paloma Faith, anything by the Brisbane band Sheppard, Budapest by George Ezra and Roll Up Your Sleeves by Meg Mac.
Happiness is?
A day off in a clean house with my husband Chris and our dog after a week in which we worked hard on projects we love. And if we’re really going there I will throw in a chat with my mum, a massage, a spot of shopping and my husband’s creamy potato dish served with something we cooked all day in the slow cooker.
What does the future hold for you?
I look forward to seeing Now Add Honey when it is released next year; and to more time spent in my mechanical bubble in Wicked as well; hopefully lot of laughing and good times with my family and friends; and lastly possibly some sort of small, manageable garden, but let’s not go crazy.
Lucy Durack has fast become one of Australia’s most exciting young leading ladies of stage and screen with a list of major roles to her credit, most recently Glinda the Good Witch in the original Australian cast of Wicked (GFO) and Cherry in the feature film Goddess. In 2013 Lucy was awarded the Helpmann Award for her lead role as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde The Musical.
Originally hailing from Perth, Lucy graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Arts (Music Theatre). Further stage credits include: Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street, Miss Dorothy in the Australian Premiere of Thoroughly Modern Millie, Lois Lane/Bianca in Kiss Me Kate and Laurey in Oklahoma! (all for The Production Company) as well as Cinderella in Into The Woods (The Capitol Theatre), Rikki Rose in Respect (Jim McPherson) and Mamma Mia! (Dainty) in which she understudied and performed the role of Sophie.
Lucy’s screen credits include Bunny in Southern Star/UKTV’s Dripping in Chocolate, Cassie Bennett in Channel 7’s Headland, as well as roles in All Saints, Rush II, Elissa Down’s film The Dripping Tap and the soon to be released feature film Now Add Honey. She has also appeared as a guest judge on Channel 10’s I Will Survive, and as a guest celebrity on Channel 10’s The Biggest Loser Biggest Makeovers.
Lucy is often called upon to perform for Royalty and at Australia’s leading sporting events, as well as making regular appearances on Channel 9’s Carols By Candlelight and Channel 7’s Carols in The Domain. Early in 2014, Lucy was seen on stage as Sybil in the MTC’s sell-out production of Noel Coward’s Private Lives and heard on ABC Radio with her self-devised series My Soundtrack.
Lucy is currently appearing as Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre. For more information, visit: www.wickedthemusical.com.au for details.
Image: Lucy Durack