The Hanging Gardens
Frank McGuinness
2013 • Faber & Faber
I do extensive research. I read the King James Bible for Observe The Sons Of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme, the Divine Comedy for Innocence, and the Koran for Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me. I undertake these big tasks because that is my job, and if I decide, as I did decide that the most creative way to enter a novelist’s mind, as was the challenge in The Hanging Gardens, is to write a novel, then write the novel (published as Arimathea, 2013). The killer with most research for a play is the massive amount that must be discarded so that the text can focus on what is most effectively spoken onstage.
— Frank McGuinness
The Hanging Gardens
Frank McGuinness
2013 • Faber & Faber
I do extensive research. I read the King James Bible for Observe The Sons Of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme, the Divine Comedy for Innocence, and the Koran for Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me. I undertake these big tasks because that is my job, and if I decide, as I did decide that the most creative way to enter a novelist’s mind, as was the challenge in The Hanging Gardens, is to write a novel, then write the novel (published as Arimathea, 2013). The killer with most research for a play is the massive amount that must be discarded so that the text can focus on what is most effectively spoken onstage.
— Frank McGuinness
Description
Frank McGuinness has written over 20 plays, and, in addition, a number of theatrical adaptions and screenplays, several poetry collections, and a novel. The Hanging Gardens had its premiere at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, and has been described by McGuinness as about the ‘constant process of change’ that takes place inside every family.
Excerpts
Interviews
- The Irish Times: 'Living Here - Playwright and Poet Frank McGuinness in Booterstown, Co. Dublin'
- The Irish Examiner: 'A Novel Idea for Veteran Playwright McGuinness'
- Donegal Diaspora: Interview with Frank McGuinness
- Breac: An Interview with Frank McGuinness
- Eolas Magazine: Interview with Frank McGuinness
- The Guardian: Frank McGuinness - 'I'm not so Entirely Respectable. I Couldn't be.'
- Faber: Frank McGuinness in Conversation - Part One
- Faber: Frank McGuinness in Conversation - Part Two
- IAHIP: Frank McGuinness in Conversation with Mary de Courcy
- Listowel Writer's Week: Frank McGuinness - 'I Have to Overcome Panic When I Start to Write'
Prizes & Awards
Reviews
- Emer O'Kelly, Irish Independent
- Jessie Weaver, Irish Theatre Magazine
- Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph
- Helen Meany, The Guardian
- Sara Keating, The Irish Times
- Marc O'Sullivan, The Irish Examiner
- Heather Keane, TN2 Magazine
- John McKeown, Exeunt Magazine
Audio
- RTÉ: Arena - Frank McGuinness Speaks about his Work
- RTÉ: Arena - Frank McGuinness Reads his Poem 'The Herring Gutters'
- RTÉ: Miriam on Sunday - Frank McGuinness Interview
- RTÉ: Playwrights in Profile - Frank McGuinness
- RTÉ: Review of The Hanging Gardens
Video
- Abbey Theatre: Frank McGuinness on The Hanging Gardens
- Abbey Theatre: Frank McGuinness and Patrick Mason on The Hanging Gardens
- Abbey Theatre: Marty Rea on The Hanging Gardens
- Abbey Theatre: Cathy Belton on The Hanging Gardens
- Abbey Theatre: Declan Condon on The Hanging Gardens
- Abbey Theatre: Barbara Brennan on The Hanging Gardens
- Abbey Theatre: Niall Buggy on The Hanging Gardens
- UCD: Sinead Cusack, Patrick Mason & Frank McGuinness - Characters In Conversation, Bloomsday 2013
- National Theatre: Damned by Despair - Interview with Frank McGuinness and Giles Fraser
- UCD Research: UCD Faces of Research - Frank McGuinness
