Zoe Ventoura, the Greek Australian actress famed for her role as Melissa Rafter in Packed to the Rafters, spoke to The Daily Telegraph ahead of her new role in Broadway musical La Cage Aux Folles, which opens at Sydney’s State Theatre later this month.
Ventoura, who split with actor husband Daniel MacPherson in 2020, has spent the last few years “house bound” along with the rest of the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but has also been raising her now three-year-old son, Austin.
“My son was really little when COVID-19 hit, so it wasn’t too different from people with very young children who are probably pretty house bound anyway, there’s not a lot of going out — so it didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything because everybody else was locked down too,” she told The Daily Telegraph.
Ventoura has also starred in other Australian hit shows, including Doctor Doctor and Home and Away. In 2022, she wrapped up filming an upcoming series called Time Bandits in New Zealand, and is also in her second year of a double university degree, studying psychology.
Now, Ventoura is looking forward to performing in La Cafe Aux Folles, which opens on April 19.
“We had an overwhelmingly positive response — people just loved it because it’s joyous and it’s colourful and fun and it’s funny — but it’s also got a really important story at its heart, and a really important message about family,” Ventoura said.
“And with Paul Capsis and Michael Cormick at the helm you can’t really go wrong – they are theatre icons in Australia. They just drive the whole thing, and it trickles down from there.”
Source: The Daily Telegraph
