When Jacqui Purvis’ beloved character Felicity Newman was tragically killed off Home and Away in August 2024, fans were left reeling. Felicity — fierce, flawed,

and fiercely loved — had become one of Summer Bay’s most dynamic figures, thanks in large part to Purvis’ emotionally layered performance. Her on-screen romance

with Tane Parata was the kind of epic love story soap viewers invest in for years.

So when Felicity’s life was cut short by a shocking brain aneurysm, the grief was palpable. Social media flooded with tributes. Viewers questioned why such a vibrant character had to go. And amid the heartbreak, one pressing question lingered: what next for Jacqui Purvis?

Now, more than a year later, the answer has arrived — and it’s nothing short of transformative.

From Summer Bay to the World Stage

After stepping away from the long-running Australian soap, Purvis took time to recalibrate. She focused on expanding her screen career, traveled to the United States, and secured a role in an upcoming feature film, Fear as the Writer. It seemed the natural trajectory for a rising television star: bigger screens, international exposure, Hollywood ambition.

But in a move that surprised even her most devoted supporters, Purvis has chosen to pivot — not further into blockbuster cinema, but back home to Australia, and onto the stage.

In 2026, she will make her professional theatre debut in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, the gritty two-hander by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright John Patrick Shanley. The production will run from January 13 to February 1 at the iconic Old Fitz Theatre.

For Purvis, it’s more than just a new role. It’s a declaration.

A Gritty Love Story — and a Personal Leap

Danny and the Deep Blue Sea is no glossy romance. Set in the Bronx, the play explores two emotionally damaged strangers who collide in a bar and form a volatile, raw, and unexpectedly tender connection. It’s intense. It’s confrontational. It’s unflinchingly human.

Purvis will take on the role of Roberta — a character she describes as strong, messy, and unapologetically real. Sharing the stage with her is her real-life partner, actor JK Kazzi, making the production both professionally daring and personally intimate.

“It’s kind of dangerous. It’s emotional. It’s violent — but at the base of it, it’s love,” Purvis has explained. “It’s about love and connection. And I think we’ve drifted from that human connection a bit.”

For an actress accustomed to the sprawling ensemble of Home and Away, where storylines shift between multiple characters and locations, the transition is monumental. This production features just two actors. No exits. No scene changes to hide behind.

For 75 uninterrupted minutes, it’s just Purvis and Kazzi on stage.

“It’s so intimate,” she admits. “There’s no way out. That’s exactly why I wanted to do it.”

Building Her Own Path

What makes this shift even more compelling is that Purvis isn’t just starring in the play — she’s producing it.

The actress recently founded her own company, Knicknack Productions, with a clear mission: to reshape female narratives in entertainment. After years of observing the industry’s limitations, she’s determined to create roles that reflect strength without sanitizing complexity.

“Everything’s put out on the table,” she says of Roberta. “The dirt, the grit, the messiness. That’s what I love about strong female characters — the messiness. I don’t want to shy away from that.”

Her passion is deeply personal. Growing up, Purvis was drawn to sports and action films. Yet she rarely saw herself represented in the characters she admired. She’s joked that she once wanted to be Matt Damon — not because she lacked pride in her identity, but because the bold, physical, morally complex roles available to women were scarce.

Now, she’s working to change that.

“I wanted to see strong, gritty female characters on screen that reflected me and my life growing up,” she explains. “That’s a driving force behind everything I do.”

A Pilgrimage to the Bronx

In preparation for the role, Purvis and Kazzi traveled to New York to immerse themselves in the world Shanley created. They walked the streets of the Bronx, absorbing its rhythms and textures.

In a surreal twist, Shanley himself agreed to meet them for coffee. For Purvis, the encounter felt almost otherworldly. Here was a writer who has won Oscars, Tony Awards, Pulitzers, and Golden Globes — a creative force who has collaborated with legends such as Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Viola Davis.

And yet, he sat down to discuss the deeply personal origins of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.

“It was incredible to hear why he wrote it, how personal the characters were to him,” Purvis recalls. “It gave us such insight.”

That connection — between writer and performer, between text and lived experience — solidified her belief that this was the right project at the right time.

Leaving Felicity Behind — But Not Forgotten

For many fans, Purvis will always be Felicity Newman: bold, impulsive, heartbreakingly vulnerable. Her chemistry with Tane Parata was electric, and her character’s sudden death remains one of the soap’s most talked-about moments in recent years.

But stepping onto the stage marks a conscious departure from the familiar.

On Home and Away, Purvis thrived within a large ensemble, supported by interwoven storylines and a steady production rhythm. Theatre, by contrast, demands sustained intensity and emotional stamina.

“It’s a massive challenge,” she acknowledges. “But that’s why I wanted it.”

The move signals not just ambition, but fearlessness. Rather than capitalizing solely on her television fame, Purvis is choosing risk — creatively and personally.

A New Chapter Begins

In an industry where many actors chase international stardom at any cost, Jacqui Purvis’ decision feels refreshingly intentional. Yes, she’s building her screen résumé. Yes, she’s exploring global opportunities. But she’s also returning home to invest in local theatre, to tell intimate stories, and to champion complex female voices.

For fans who mourned Felicity Newman’s tragic end, this next chapter offers something unexpected: hope.

Hope that Purvis’ career will evolve in bold directions. Hope that she’ll continue pushing boundaries. And hope that the fearless energy she brought to Summer Bay will now ignite stages far beyond it.

If her departure from Home and Away marked the end of one era, her leap into theatre — and into production — signals the beginning of another.

And if her past performances are any indication, this new direction won’t just surprise audiences.

It will leave them breathless.