🔥 Home and Away Star Jacqui Purvis Speaks Out About Her New Project – Emotional & Unexpected
Jacqui Purvis made a powerful impression on Home and Away audiences as Felicity Newman, a character who balanced toughness with deep emotional vulnerability. Her on-screen romance with Tane Parata became one of the show’s most talked-about storylines, making Felicity’s sudden death from a brain aneurysm in August 2024 all the more devastating for fans. While viewers were heartbroken to see her exit, many were also curious about what direction Jacqui’s career would take next.
After stepping away from the long-running soap, Jacqui focused on broadening her horizons. She spent time traveling in the United States, continued developing her screen work, and landed a role in a major film project. Yet instead of staying in Hollywood to chase further movie opportunities, she made an unexpected decision: returning to Australia to take on her first professional stage role. For Jacqui, this wasn’t a step backward, but a bold leap into unfamiliar and challenging territory.
Determined to have greater creative control over the stories she tells, Jacqui founded her own production company, Knickknack Productions. Her mission is clear—to reshape female narratives and champion stories led by complex, unapologetically real women. That vision comes to life in her latest project, the stage play Danny and the Deep Blue Sea by acclaimed playwright John Patrick Shanley. The production is set to run at the Old Fitz Theatre from January 13 to February 1, 2026, marking a significant new chapter in Jacqui’s artistic journey.
The play is raw, confronting, and emotionally intense. Featuring just two characters, it explores violence, vulnerability, romance, and the fundamental human need for connection. Jacqui describes the work as dangerous and emotionally demanding, yet deeply rooted in love. For her, the timing feels right. In a world increasingly dominated by screens and distance, she believes audiences are craving genuine human connection—and this play confronts that longing head-on.
One of the main reasons Jacqui was drawn to the project is her character, Roberta. She sees Roberta as a fiercely strong woman who refuses to be confined by social expectations. The character lays everything bare—her flaws, pain, and emotional chaos. Jacqui has openly said that she’s not interested in sanitizing female characters. Instead, she embraces their messiness, seeing it as an honest reflection of real life rather than something to hide from.
Growing up, Jacqui loved sports and action films but rarely saw women like herself represented on screen. She has joked that she wanted to be the next Matt Damon, not because she lacked female role models, but because the gritty, complex characters she admired were almost always male. That early frustration now fuels her creative drive. Every project she chooses is guided by her desire to put strong, layered women at the center of the story.
Preparing for Danny and the Deep Blue Sea pushed Jacqui even further. She traveled to New York with her co-star—and real-life partner—JK Kazzi to immerse herself in the world of the play, which is set in the Bronx. While there, they met with playwright John Patrick Shanley, an encounter Jacqui described as surreal. Hearing directly from the writer about his inspirations, personal experiences, and the emotional roots of the characters gave her invaluable insight. Visiting the neighborhoods that shaped the play helped ground her performance in authenticity.
Transitioning from television to theater has been one of Jacqui’s greatest challenges. On Home and Away, she was part of a large ensemble, with multiple storylines unfolding around her. On stage, there is nowhere to hide. For 75 uninterrupted minutes, Jacqui and JK remain on stage, carrying the entire emotional weight of the play between them. The intimacy is intense, the pressure constant, and the demand for precision relentless. Yet this is exactly what attracted her to the role—it forces her beyond her comfort zone.