Judith Clare Thompson, born in 1954, is a Canadian playwright. Initially training and working as an actress, Thompson published her first play in 1980 and afterwards focused solely on her writing career. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2005.
Thompson’s plays often feature characters plagued by poverty who act predominantly out of instinct, anger or need instead of rational thought and often include graphic acts of violence. She is particularly known for portraying elements of the human subconsciousness and exploring the psychology behind a character’s action. Much of her writing is inspired by experiences from her former work as a social worker in Ontario.
The Other Side of the Dark is an anthology of four plays (The Crackwalker, Pink, Tornado, I Am Yours), published in 1989. The collection won the Governor General’s Award for Drama in 1989 and is named after Thompson’s belief that the possibility of evil is present in everyone.
