Ahoy there, Verity! THE PIRATE OF GARNET STATION

The local legend's making a swashbuckling return to the stage

- Hayley McLarin

Verity George – café owner, venue manager, actor, juggler, tutor, nude model. Is there no end to this charismatic Aucklander’s skills?

One of the people behind the popular Garnet Station venue in the city’s western suburbs has finally succumbed to her desire to get back into acting. She has reunited with

Tim Bray, a teenage friend, and is appearing in his production of Margaret Mahy’s cherished children’s tale The Great Piratical Rumbustification.

“I have more than enough to juggle and, in fact, in the play I do juggle,” the 58-year-old says. 

“I’m the oldest in the company,” tells Verity. “I noticed the billboards and thought it might be fun. I was just delighted that Tim would consider me, so it’s been quite a sentimental and lovely reconnection.”

Helping her achieve her dream is a special woman in the wings, her wife Lisa Prager, who is looking after Garnet Station and cooking the pizzas.

The pair have been together for 28 years and married for five. When Covid hit, they were forced to literally shut shop at a time when both were also looking after ailing parents.

“I looked after my mum for two years, commuting up to Mahurangi East [in Snells Beach],” Verity says. “Lisa looked after her dad, who lived with us full-time for five years.”