Overview

In little more than a decade, Buncrana native Frank McGuinness has produced a body of startlingly imaginative work that has played to audiences all over the world. His plays cross social, cultural, and political divides best exemplified in his ground–breaking work Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme and its companion piece Carthaginians, about Bloody Sunday in Derry. Both address catastrophic events in the Catholic and Protestant psyches. Clear the Stage examines the work of this important Irish writer. Interviewees include: Frank McGuinness; David Ervine of the Progressive Unionist Party; Trevor Nunn, Director of the National Theatre, London; Brian Keenan, former Beirut hostage, and singer/songwriter Marianne Faithful.

1. Margo Harkin

   Director