Back to business for Lucy
Wherever Lucy Durack goes, her beloved pooch Takse tends to follow. But when the City Beach-raised star recently wed Chris Horsey in a fairytale wedding on Rottnest Island and then honeymooned in Bali, she was forced to leave the Maltese- cross toy poodle behind.
"We brought him with us to Perth but he couldn't come to Rottnest for the wedding because of the quokkas. So one of my sister's best friends moved into my parents' apartment to look after their dog, which is one of Takse's brothers," Durack says over the phone from Melbourne. "So they were well looked after."
Despite his absence, Durack laughs that Takse still made an appearance in their wedding snaps.
"Mum and I made this Takse puppet thing, which was a photo of him on a stick, so he could be in our wedding photos," she says with a giggle.
Reflecting on their wedding day, Durack says it turned out exactly how they had envisioned.
"It was so magical," she says. "I guess having all your favourite people together in the one spot, and that one spot being Rottnest Island, it made for a pretty damn good day."
The newlyweds enjoyed a 10-day honeymoon spent mostly in Uluwatu at a luxury resort set atop a secluded cliff edge overlooking the ocean.
Durack is slightly ashamed to admit it was her first trip to the Indonesian island.
"I've actually never been to Bali, which is strange being a West Australian," she laughs. "It was brilliant. (Horsey) organised the whole thing himself."
With the wedding and honeymoon now behind her, it's back to business for the Helpmann Award-winning actress.
Last weekend, Durack kicked off the return of the popular stage musical Wicked in Melbourne, reprising the role that turned her into a national theatre star.
"It's lovely being back in the land of Oz, as it were," she says. "I haven't done the role of Glinda for 2 1/2 years so it's been quite a break.
"I was getting really nervous beforehand, thinking 'Oh gosh, I hope I haven't forgotten things'. Obviously there are loads of details to hone but the general shape of it is still in my muscle memory and I actually played Glinda in Wicked for longer than my WAAPA degree."
After a successful season of Wicked in Perth in 2011, Durack hopes the show will head back to WA.
As well as reprising her Wicked role, Durack is set to appear on the big screen in Australian-shot musical comedy Now Add Honey, with Hamish Blake and Portia de Rossi.
"I'm really looking forward to it," she says. "I've been lucky to dip my toe in the edge of a few different ponds and have been really liking the variety. I love working in film and TV and musical theatre."
