Luminosity

The Mercer family's fortune started in eighteenth-century England, increased via South African gems in the nineteenth, and is managed on an ethical basis today. But when a modern Mercer begins digging beneath the surface, the family's past suddenly appears less clear-cut than the gems they once traded. Set in the West Midlands of England in 1799 and 1999 and in Kimberley, South Africa in 1899, Luminosity tells three tales of interlinked lives where greed, lies and generosity have surprising results. Luminosity premiered at The Pit, Barbican Centre, London, by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2001.

Nick Stafford's stage plays include The Canal Ghost, The Whisper of Angels' Wings, Moll Cutpurse, The Snow Queen, Listen with dA dA, The Devil's Only Sleeping, The Go Between, Battle Royal, Luminosity, Love Me Tonight, Katherine Desouza and his adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's novel, War Horse (Tony Award, Best Play 2011). His plays for radio include A Matter of Sex (winner of Sony Gold Award Best Original Script), Ring of Roses, La Petite Mort, The List, A Year and a Day, The Fire Inside, Birdsong,, A Thousand Acres and Frankenstein. His TV films include The Missing Finger. His screenplays include The Blue Suit, Pity (winner of Dennis Potter Play of the Year Award 1998) and Katherine Desouza. His first novel, Armistice, was published in 2010.