Frank McGuinness

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Frank McGuinness
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Born	29 July 1953 (1953-07-29) (age 54) Buncrana, County Donegal, Ireland
Occupation	playwright, poet, translator
Nationality	Irish
Genres	Drama, fictional prose

Frank McGuinness^[1] (born 29 July 1953 in County Donegal, Ireland) is an award-winning Irish playwright, translator and poet.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 2.1 Plays 2.2 Selected Translations 2.3 Screenplays 3 References 4 External links 5 Additional reading

[edit] Biography

McGuinness was born in Buncrana, a town located on the Inishowen Peninsula of County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in the Republic of 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 1, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, which was staged initially in Dublin's Abbey Theatre and then internationally. It won numerous awards including the London Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright for McGuinness. He has also written new translations of classic dramas, including works by Anton Chekov, Bertolt Brecht and Henrik Ibsen. In addition, he wrote the screenplay for the film Dancing at Lughnasa, adapting the stage play by fellow Irishman 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 and English at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. He is now a writer-in-residence lecturing at University College Dublin.

[edit] Works

[edit] 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')
• Cathaginians (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, Doblin, 2008)

[edit] Selected Translations

• 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 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

[edit] Screenplays

• Dancing at Lughnasa (adaptation of play by Brian Friel)

[edit] References

[edit] 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

[edit] Additional reading

• Eamonn Jordan The feast of famine : the plays of Frank McGuinness (Bern: Peter Lang, 1997) ISBN 3906757714
• 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)