Why Zoe Ventoura hasn’t watched Packed To The Rafters reboot

Zoe Ventoura — who split with actor husband Daniel MacPherson in 2020 — is still stopped in the streets by fans of cult show Packed to the Rafters. But life is taking the single mother in other directions.

Zoe Ventoura, pictures in Sydney’s State Theatre, will star in La Cage Aux Folles, which is returning to Sydney at the State Theatre from 19 April for a limited season. Picture: Richard Dobson

Packed to the Rafters favourite Zoe Ventoura shines in the stage’s spotlight but, notoriously private, has shied away from it in recent years.

Separating from husband Daniel MacPherson in 2020, she has navigated the last few years as life changed — a single mum of a toddler and of course trying to work through the pandemic that shut down the world.

But she’s back on stage for hit Broadway musical La Cage Aux Folles when it opens at the State Theatre later this month and she couldn’t be happier.

When speaking to Insider, she and MacPherson’s three-year-old son Austin is at daycare so life admin is on the agenda. And like everyone, it’s seemingly never-ending.

“I feel like the year just started and then all of a sudden it’s April and it’s like, hang on — wait, stop — where’s it going?” she laughs.

Zoe Ventoura, playing Meliisa Rafter, with Hugh Sheridan playing her on-screen husband Ben Rafter.

“Austin is three and three is unbearably cute — it’s heart burstingly cute every day and we’re great.

“We’re just like everyone else — just hanging out and playgrounds and cousins and friends and family — and it’s busy but it’s wonderful and he’s wonderful and thriving and doing great.”

Ventoura with her former husband, and actor, Dan MacPherson. The pair share a son.

While she respectfully declined to discuss her love life in a bid to keep her personal life as private as possible, she said support systems around her made working on shows like La Cage Aux Folles not only possible but empowering.

“I think anyone who has kids knows that they have to be the priority, to make sure (all the logistics) are in place before you commit to a job,” she says.

“But this all worked out really great, as long as there’s a support network there — and the fact that it has been in Sydney has been really great too because I haven’t had to go anywhere.”

She’s thrilled to revive the 11 Tony Awards winning show that had a short run at Chatswood Concourse in February, and between everything else, is in her second year of a double university degree, studying psychology.

As well as acting, Ventura is studying a double degree. Picture: Richard Dobson

“It’s just the most beautiful show,” she says of La Cage Aux Folles.

“It’s the musical that the film The Birdcage with Robin Williams, Nathan Lane – that was based on La Cage Aux Folles – so it’s a classic, iconic show.

“And it hasn’t been done in Sydney for 37 years, which seems insane to me because the day we had the cast read through it was just so funny and clever and full of heart and joy – and I was like, why hasn’t anyone put this up?

“It’s a big beautiful show, and I’m so glad we get to do it again because the run in Chatwood was really short and a lot of people weren’t able to see it.”

With Paul Capsis in the lead role of Albin, and The Phantom Of The Opera’s Michael Cormick as his husband Georges, Ventoura will play Marie Dindon, the ultraconservative mother of Anne. And if you don’t know the story, you should, she says.

“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 explains.

“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.”

Dan MacPherson announced the couple’s split.

She says the stage is a completely different beast from being on set for film or TV – and while she started her career in musical theatre, this is the first live show she’s done in a ‘really long time’.

“So to get back on stage and feel that sense of camaraderie and connection and to be able to feed off the audience and have those moments — it does feel magic at times,” she says.

“It can also be really nerve-racking. But when you get it right and it’s flying, which this show totally does, it’s just brilliant.”

When it comes to future work, she couldn’t choose between stage and set.

“I am just hopeful that I’ll keep working in any capacity in this industry,” she says.

“I love being on set and that does feel like home.

“But being back on stage has been just so wonderful for me and I’ve loved every minute of it, so I’m just happy for the opportunities at this stage.”

She’s not sure what will happen after this run – but juggling Austin and her university degree keeps her busy enough not to worry about ‘what’s next’.

“I wish we could think far ahead but I think in this industry, none of us can; you just have to see what comes up and deal with things one by one as they come up,” says Ventoura, who also starred on Doctor Doctor and in Home And Away’s first same-sex love story.

“I wrapped up with Time Bandits last year which was really fun to shoot in New Zealand, and to go straight from that to this felt really great. Work-wise there are a few things on the cards but nothing in concrete yet ... other than that, it’s just parenting, but I’m also studying, which is taking up a lot of my time.”

Ventoura went back to uni last year and is in her second year of a double degree in psychology and counselling.

“That’s been something I’ve been interested in for a really long time and I just thought I would get started and give it a crack and see how it goes,” she says.

“But I’m loving it and I’m just going to keep chipping away at it until I can’t or until I finish.

“I’m really glad I did it. I always feel a bit silly even saying it because I feel like most actors are probably interested in psychology because that’s kind of what we do, delve into that kind of stuff. I don’t know where it’s going to go to but hopefully I can use it in the future.”

She says the reality of Covid also played a hand in returning to study.

“My son was really little when Covid 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 says.

“But it really affected our industry ... and it was like OK, I’ve had a wonderful career and I love it and there’s no plans of slowing down or anything — but sometimes you have to look at … what else do I want to do, what else do I want to add to my life and explore, because these things can get taken away as we all found out.”

Despite craving a private life, Ventoura is still stopped in the streets of Sydney by fans of cult show Packed to the Rafters, on which she played Melissa Rafter from 2008 to 2010. And she has a confession – she hasn’t watched the reboot, Back to the Rafters, which was released on Amazon Prime in 2021.

“I didn’t watch ... it felt like it might be a little bit too close to home,” she says.

“That show was a real moment in time – it was such a special time in my life, and I think in all of our lives.

“It really was a family and it felt like that and it was a beautiful time.

“We’re all still in contact — everybody’s spread out all over the world doing different things, but we still talk, we still message. I think I feel really grateful that I was part of something that really connected with people.”

La Cage Aux Folles will play at The State Theatre from April 19-23