Frank McGuinness
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Frank McGuinness
McGuinness, Frank (1953- ), playwright; born in Buncrana, Co. Donegal, educated at UCD. He began to write poetry and short stories in 1974. McGuinness taught at NUU, UCD, Maynooth, then UCD again. He started writing for the stage with Factory Girls (1982), which opened at the Peacock [see Abbey Theatre]. His next play, Friends, was rejected by Field Day but later reworked as Carthaginians, dealing with the impact of ‘Bloody Sunday’ in January 1972 on the people of Derry. Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme (1985) was staged at the Abbey and presented a sympathetic view of loyalism. Innocence (1986) was performed at the Gate; it dealt with the dynamics of the creative life in a portrait of the artist Caravaggio. Among his successful translations and versions of European plays are Rosmersholm (1987), at the English National Theatre, Yerma (1987), Peer Gynt (1988), Three Sisters (1990), and The Threepenny Opera (1991). The effect of his engagement with these classics can be seen in the contemporaneous original works, Carthaginians (Peacock 1988), Mary and Lizzie (Barbican 1989), and The Breadman (Gate 1990). Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (1992) was based on the experiences of Western hostages in Beirut, notably Brian Keenan. McGuinness has also written for television the plays Scout (1987) and The Hen House (1989). Bird Sanctuary (1993) is a comedy of manners, and Booterstown (1994) was a first collection of poems. Mutability (1997) turned to Edmund Spenser to explore colonial tensions; Dolly West's Kitchen (1999) is set in Donegal, during the Second World War.
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Frank McGuinness
This article is about the Irish playwright. For the Australian journalist and newspaper editor, see Frank McGuinness (journalist).
| Frank McGuinness | |
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| Born | 29 July 1953 Buncrana, County Donegal, Ireland |
| Occupation | Playwright, poet, translator |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Genres | Drama, Poetry |
| Notable work(s) | Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme |
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Professor Frank McGuinness[1][2] (born 29 July 1953) is an award-winning Irish playwright and poet. As well as his own works, which include Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, he is recognised for a "strong record of adapting literary classics, having translated the plays of Racine, Sophocles, Ibsen and Strindberg to critical acclaim".[3] Prof. McGuinness has been Professor of Creative Writing at University College Dublin (UCD) since 2007.[1]
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Contents
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Biography
McGuinness was born in Buncrana, a town located on the Inishowen Peninsula of County Donegal, Ireland. He was educated locally and at University College Dublin, where he studied Pure English and medieval studies to postgraduate level.[citation needed]
He first came to prominence with his play The Factory Girls, but established his reputation with his play about World War I, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, which was staged in Dublin's Abbey Theatre and internationally. The play made a name for him when it was performed at Hampstead Theatre, drawing comments about McGuinness's Irish Catholic background.[4] It won numerous awards including the London Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright for McGuinness. He has also written new versions of classic dramas, including works by Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, and Euripides, adapting the literal translations of others.[5] In addition, he wrote the screenplay for the film Dancing at Lughnasa, adapting the stage play by fellow Irishman (and, indeed, fellow Ulsterman) Brian Friel.
McGuinness's first poetry anthology, Booterstown, was published in 1994. Several of his poems have been recorded by Marianne Faithfull, including Electra, After the Ceasefire and The Wedding.
McGuinness previously lectured in Linguistics and Drama at the University of Ulster, Medieval Studies at University College, Dublin and English at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. Then he was a writer-in-residence lecturing at University College Dublin before being appointed Professor of Creative Writing in the School of English, Drama and Film at University College Dublin.[1]
Works
Plays
- The Glass God (Platform Theatre Group, Dublin, 1982)
- The Factory Girls (Abbey Theatre, Dublin, 1982)
- Borderlands (TEAM Educational Theatre Company, 1984)
- Gatherers (TEAM Educational Theatre Company, 1985)
- Ladybag (Damer Hall, Dublin for Dublin Theatre Festival, 1985)
- Baglady (Abbey, 1985)
- Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme (Abbey, 1985; Hampstead Theatre, London, 1986)
- Innocence (Gate Theatre, Dublin, 1986)
- Times In It (Peacock stage of Abbey Theatre, Dublin 1988: triple bill consisting of 'Feed the Money and Keep Them Coming'; 'Brides of Ladybag' and 'Flesh and Blood')
- Carthaginians (Abbey, 1988; Hampstead, 1989)
- Mary and Lizzie (RSC, 1989)
- The Bread Man (Gate, 1991)
- Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (Hampstead, West End and Broadway, 1992)
- The Bird Sanctuary (Abbey, 1993)
- Mutabilitie (RNT, 1997)
- Dolly West's Kitchen (Abbey, 1999)
- Speaking Like Magpies (RSC, The Swan Theatre, Straford-upon-Avon, 2005)
- Gates of Gold (Gate Theatre, Dublin, 2002. UK premiere Finborough Theatre, 2004. West End transfer 2006.)
- There Came a Gypsy Riding (Almeida Theatre, London, 2007)
- The Holy Moley Jesus Story (Greash Theatre, Dublin, 2008)
- Greta Garbo Came to Donegal (Tricycle Theatre, London, 2010)
Selected Adaptations
- Rosmersholm by Henrik Ibsen (RNT, 1987)
- Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen (Gate, 1988; RSC and world tour, 1994)
- Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen (Roundabout Theatre, Broadway, 1994)
- A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen (Playhouse Theatre, Broadway, 1997)
- Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov (Gate and Royal Court, 1990)
- Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov (Field Day Production, 1995)
- Yerma[6] by Federico García Lorca (Abbey, 1987)
- The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht (Gate, 1987)
- The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht (RNT, 1997)
- Electra by Sophocles (Donmar and Broadway)
- The Storm by Alexander Ostrovsky (Almeida)
- Hecuba by Euripides
- Phaedra by Seneca
- Oedipus by Sophocles (Royal National Theatre)
- Helen by Euripides (Shakespeare's Globe, 2008)
- John Gabriel Borkman by Henrik Ibsen (Abbey Theatre, 2010)
- Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen (London Classic Theatre, 2011)[3][7]
Screenplays
- Dancing at Lughnasa (adaptation of play by Brian Friel)
- A Short Stay in Switzerland (BBC TV, 2009, based on the true story of Dr Anne Turner)
Poetry
- Booterstown (Gallery Press, 1994)
- In Loving Memory (Limerick City Gallery of Art, 1989, with photographs by Amelia Stein)
- The Sea with no Ships (Gallery Press, 1999)
- The Stone Jug (Gallery Press, 2003)
- Dulse (Gallery Press, 2007)
References
- ^ a b c "McGuinness named Professor of Creative Writing at UCD". UCD. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ "Bloomsday Centenary Public Lecture Series". UCD. Retrieved on 3 June 2004.
- ^ a b "Passion, betrayal and hypocrisy in new version of Ibsen's 'Ghosts' at Town Hall". Galway City Tribune. Retrieved on 13 May 2011.
- ^ Maxwell, Dominic. "Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme at Hampstead Theatre, NW3". The Times. Retrieved on 25 June 2009.
- ^ Higgins, Charlotte. "Frank McGuinness: 'I'm not entirely respectable. I couldn't be'". The Guardian. Retrieved on 18 October 2008.
- ^ Marlowe, Sam. "Yerma". The Times. Retrieved on 30 August 2006. "The play, in Frank McGuinness's sinewy translation, sets the sacred against the profane, sensuality against repression and duty against instinct".
- ^ McBride, Charlie. "‘Stunning reworking’ of Ibsen’s Ghosts for Town Hall". Galway Advertiser. Retrieved on 5 May 2011.
External links
- Complete Information on all of Frank McGuinness's plays
- Frank McGuinness on the Faber and Faber website
- McGuinness's credits on Broadway
- Publications about, by or mentioning Frank McGuinness
- Frank McGuinness Resource
- Irish Playography listing for McGuinness
Additional reading
- Eamonn Jordan The feast of famine: the plays of Frank McGuinness (Bern: Peter Lang, 1997) ISBN 3-906757-71-4
- Helen Lojek (ed.) The theatre of Frank McGuinness: stages of mutability (Dublin: Carysfort Press, 2002) ISBN 1-904505-01-5
- Hiroko Mikami, Frank McGuinness and his Theatre of Paradox (Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe, 2002)
- Kenneth Nally, Celebrating Confusion: The Theatre of Frank McGuinness (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009) ISBN 1-4438-0335-9
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