Gemma Ward to make her stage debut in The Ugly One

zimbio

Well it's not a return to the runway, but she will be treading the boards. Perth’s Sunday Times newspaper reveals today that Gemma Ward will be making her stage debut in The Perth Theatre Company’s production of The Ugly One at the new State Theatre Complex on March 22nd, with rehearsals due to commence in Perth from February 14th. Written by German playwright Marius von Mayenburg, the black comedy revolves around the pursuit of physical perfection via cosmetic surgery. So it won't be too much of a stretch at all for Ward, who of course spent half her teenage years in the fashion business. Perth Theatre Company artistic director Melissa Cantwell met with Ward in Perth in December and offered her the role of Fanny, which is described as a complex role that will see Ward playing several characters. “I’m so excited... I’ve just been jumping out of my skin” Ward told The Sunday Times from New York. No word on how long the season runs. With Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, in which Ward plays a mermaid, due for release on May 20th, one assumes she will soon be hitting that promo trail. 

In the same story, Ward also opens up about her relationship with the late Heath Ledger, telling the paper that her three year break from the media spotlight had been spurred by Ledger’s death. 

The pair met in New York in November 2007, just two months prior to his death, while both were “struggling with things that I won’t get into and we bonded over that” said Ward. They spent Christmas 2007 together in their home town. 

She noted, “There was noone like him - and noone will ever be like him. I’m just so grateful that I got to meet him and get as close as I did with him”.