WE sat down with the woman who is practically perfect in every way.
A STRAIGHT-LACED LADY
Verity Hunt-Ballard is dishing out spoonfuls of sugar as Mary Poppins in the new stage musical now playing in Sydney. The role is a tight squeeze. “I’ve performed in a corset before, but not for two hours straight. And certainly not while flying and dancing over chimney tops and singing very high notes.”
ACCIDENTS HAPPEN
“There’s a moment in the show where I pop up the chimney,” Hunt-Ballard says. “One night my coat got caught. I ended up being dragged down the lift, I ended up in the spotlight with my legs up in the air. And my next line is, ‘Oh dear, what do I look like?’ I looked like … well, not Mary Poppins.”
LIFE AS A HIGH-FLYER
Hunt-Ballard flies over the audience during the show. “They didn’t actually check whether we had a fear of heights when we auditioned. But it’s second nature now. I look forward to it. It feels like a great privilege to get so close to the audience, seeing tough, middle-aged men with a tear in their eyes.”
A FEW OF HER FAVOURITE THINGS
Hunt-Ballard is “big on nature. I love to rock out, too. I’m a big fan of female singers - Joni Mitchell had a huge influence on me - and the Wainwright family, Radiohead. I love the ocean, travel, I love to be cooked for - I’m not such a great cook myself.”
