Hello.
Welcome!
My name is Laura Lethlean. I am a playwright from Naarm, Melbourne and a graduate of NIDA’s Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Performance. My plays have been published and produced across Australia and New Zealand.
I am a co-founder of THE ANCHOR theatre company, alongside NIDA directing graduates Jessica Arthur and Katie Cawthorne. THE ANCHOR has produced many of my plays and has provided me with a pathway to build my artistic practise.
I am a collaborative playwright. After each draft, I look for opportunities to work with actors, directors, dramaturgs and designers. I always put the project first, allowing the best ideas to contribute to the final text. I write theatrically, not only telling stories through plot, character and dialogue, but also utilising the possibilities of sound, lighting and set design when creating theatre.
I look for stories, perspectives, and ideas that I believe need re-examining. I have written about the inventors of plastic (Plastic Pacific, 2013), the fine line between reality TV and the 24 hour news cycle (The Space Between the Fuel and the Fire, 2016), abortion (Two Hearts, 2018), women’s relationship to legacy beyond motherhood, (The Three Graces, 2019) the complexities of consent (Pillow Fight, 2022) and deep sea mining (Plunder, 2024).
I have been commissioned by Sydney Chamber Opera, Canberra Youth Theatre, Victorian Seniors Festival and the National Theatre Drama School. With each project, I work closely with the creative team to make memorable theatre that considers and connects with audiences.
