Verity Laughton


Verity Laughton is a South Australian writer, editor, and playwright.
WWW veritylaughton.com

Early life and education

Laughton was born in Adelaide in 1952. She was educated at the University of Adelaide, graduating with a BA in 1973. As a student she appeared in several plays produced by the university's dramatic society. She then completed a Diploma in Library Studies at the South Australian Institute of Technology in 1975.
Laughton was awarded a PhD by Flinders University for her thesis "Depicting the Gorgon: the making of theatre about historic-political trauma".

Career

Following graduation, Laughton worked at the State Library of South Australia as a librarian for two years, while co-editing Ash Magazine, a literary magazine. She filled several roles in support of Writers Week at the Adelaide Festivals from 1982 to 1986.
Laughton wrote her first play, I Saw a Dinosaur, in 1987. Numerous plays have followed. The Mourning After, which premiered in 1996 directed by Tony Sheldon and starring Nancye Hayes, was described as "a compelling theatrical experience". She later adapted Patricia Wrightson's The Nargun and the Stars for the stage. It premiered at the 2009 Sydney Festival at the Riverside Theatres Parramatta and was considered "a vividly memorable creation".
Most recently, in 2023 her adaptation of The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams. It premiered at the State Theatre Company of South Australia, before transferring to the Sydney Theatre Company and then Arts Centre Melbourne. The production was described as "a very clever realisation...and gives great power to key moments of this epic story".
She has also written poetry and short stories.

Selected works

I Saw a Dinosaur, 1987The Ballad of Bonnie Wheeler, 1988Imagine the Night Sky, 1989Bad Luck Clancy!, 1991Artizane, 1992Tales at Tarpeena, 1993Carrying Light, 1995The Mourning After, Currency Press, 1996Burning, Australian Plays, 2001The Lightkeeper, Australian Plays, 2003The Fox, 2003 Davy, 2008 Moon Door, 2008 The Nargun and the Stars, 2009 The Sweetest Thing, Australian Plays, 2010The Red Cross Letters, 2016Long Tan, Currency Press, 2017The Dictionary of Lost Words, 2023

Awards and recognition