Shaun Patrick McKenna (born 5 April 1957 in
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...
, Kent) is an English dramatist, lyricist and screenwriter.
Biography
Shaun McKenna studied at
Maidstone Grammar School
Maidstone Grammar School (MGS) is a grammar school in Maidstone, England. The school was founded in 1549 after Protector Somerset sold Corpus Christi Hall on behalf of King Edward VI to the people of Maidstone for £200. The Royal Charter fo ...
and the
University of Bristol
, mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'')
, established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter
, type ...
(1975–1978). He was an actor for a few years, then taught drama, and began writing in his late 20s. He married former actress and agent Jenny Hayes in 1985; she died in 2014. Shaun McKenna lives in West London.
Theatre
Shaun McKenna's early theatre plays include ''Killing Camille'' (
Paines Plough
Paines Plough is a touring theatre company founded in 1974 by writer David Pownall and director John Adams.
The company specialises exclusively in commissioning and producing new plays and helping playwrights develop their craft.
Over the past ...
,
Old Red Lion 1990, a rehearsed reading directed by
Kathy Burke
Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke (born 13 June 1964) is an English actress, comedian, writer, producer, and director. She achieved fame with her appearances on sketch shows such as ''French and Saunders'' (1988–1999) and her recurring role as Mag ...
). He began an association with
Michael Napier Brown at the
Royal Theatre in
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
for whom he adapted
Richard Llewellyn
Richard Dafydd Vivian Llewellyn Lloyd (; 8 December 1906 – 30 November 1983), known by his pen name Richard Llewellyn ( , ), was an English-born novelist of Welsh descent, who is best remembered for his 1939 novel '' How Green Was My Va ...
's ''
How Green Was My Valley
''How Green Was My Valley'' is a 1939 novel by Richard Llewellyn, narrated by Huw Morgan, the main character, about his Welsh family and the mining community in which they live. The author had claimed that he based the book on his own persona ...
'' (1990)
in which
Aled Jones
Aled Jones, (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer and radio and television presenter. As a teenage chorister, he reached widespread fame during the mid-1980s. Since then he has worked in television with the BBC and ITV, and radio (for Cla ...
made his acting debut, and
R. F. Delderfield's ''
To Serve Them All My Days
: ''For the 1980 television adaptation, see To Serve Them All My Days (TV series).''
''To Serve Them All My Days'' is a novel by British author R. F. Delderfield.
First published in 1972, the book was adapted for television in 1980. It has b ...
'' (1992).
He subsequently wrote a drama, ''Ruling Passions'', which was presented at the Royal in 1995.
He wrote the book for ''
Ben Hur Live'', based on the novel by
Lew Wallace
Lewis Wallace (April 10, 1827February 15, 1905) was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, governor of the New Mexico Territory, politician, diplomat, and author from Indiana. Among his novels and biographies, Wallace is ...
shown at the O2 arena in September 2009, and in a revised version at the Fiera di Roma, Rome in 2011.
In spring 2012 his stage adaptation of
Charles Dance
Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in '' The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in '' ...
's screenplay for ''
Ladies in Lavender
''Ladies in Lavender'' is a 2004 British drama film written and directed by Charles Dance. The screenplay is based on a 1908 short story by William J. Locke. The film stars Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Natascha McElhone, and Miriam Margolyes.
Plot ...
'', with
Hayley Mills and
Belinda Lang
Belinda Lucy Lange (born 23 December 1953), known professionally as Belinda Lang, is an English actress. She is known for playing Liza in the ITV sitcom '' Second Thoughts'' (1991–94), and Bill Porter in the BBC sitcom ''2point4 Children'' ...
, toured the UK. The production won five
BroadwayWorld
BroadwayWorld is a theatre news website based in New York City covering Broadway, Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres ...
UK Awards 2012, including Best Fringe or Regional Play, Best Director (
Robin Lefevre
Robin Lefevre (sometimes "Lefèvre", born 1947) is a British theatre director. He has worked in Britain, Ireland, Australia, and the United States.
Career
Lefevre began as an actor in Scottish repertory theatre as well as playing small parts on B ...
), Best Actress in a Leading Role (
Hayley Mills), Best Actress in a Featured Role (
Belinda Lang
Belinda Lucy Lange (born 23 December 1953), known professionally as Belinda Lang, is an English actress. She is known for playing Liza in the ITV sitcom '' Second Thoughts'' (1991–94), and Bill Porter in the BBC sitcom ''2point4 Children'' ...
)and Best Actor in a Featured Role (Robert Rees).
In 2014 his stage adaptation of
Peter James's novella ''The Perfect Murder'' toured the UK, from January to April 2014 with
Les Dennis
Leslie Dennis Heseltine (born 12 October 1953) is an English television presenter, actor, and comedian. He presented ''Family Fortunes'' from 1987 until 2002.
Early life
Dennis was born Leslie Dennis Heseltine on 12 October 1953 in the Liverpoo ...
and
Claire Goose
Claire Goose (born 10 February 1975) is a British actress. She played Tina Seabrook, a nurse in BBC One's ''Casualty'', DS Mel Silver in '' Waking the Dead'', and Sergeant (later Inspector) Rachel Weston in ITV's ''The Bill''. She also narrat ...
, and with
Robert Daws
Robert Daws (born 4 May 1959) is an English actor, and crime fiction author. He is best known for his television roles, including Tuppy Glossop in ''Jeeves and Wooster'' (1990-93), gruff cricketer Roger Dervish in the comedy '' Outside Edge'' ...
and
Dawn Steele
Dawn Steele (born 11 December 1975) is a Scottish actress best known for her portrayals of the characters Alexandra “Lexie” MacDonald from the BBC drama '' Monarch of the Glen'', Alice Trevanion in the ITV drama series '' Wild at Heart'' a ...
from September 2014. In January 2016 a new tour went out with
Shane Richie
Shane Patrick Paul Roche (born 11 March 1964), known as Shane Richie, is a British actor, comedian, television presenter and singer. Following initial success as a stage and screen performer, he became best known for his portrayal of the charac ...
and
Jessie Wallace
Karen Jane Wallace (born 25 September 1971), known professionally as Jessie Wallace, is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Kat Slater on the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' since 2000. Her role as Kat won her the Natio ...
. After ''The Perfect Murder'',
McKenna was commissioned by producers Joshua Andrews and
Peter James to adapt James's novel ''Dead Simple''. This toured in 2015 with a cast led by
Tina Hobley
Tina Ellen Hobley (born 20 May 1971) is an English actress and radio presenter, best known for her long-running role as Chrissie Williams in the BBC One medical drama series ''Holby City''. Hobley left Holby City in November 2013 after 12 years.
...
,
Jamie Lomas
James Lomas (born 21 April 1975) is an English actor, known for his soap opera roles as Warren Fox in ''Hollyoaks'' and Jake Stone in ''EastEnders''.
Life and career
Lomas was born in Manchester. Before joining ''Hollyoaks'' in 2006, he had ...
and
Gray O'Brien
Gray O'Brien (born Gerard O'Brien, 11 August 1968) is a Scottish television and film actor, best known for his portrayal of the villainous Weatherfield businessman Tony Gordon in the popular ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2007–2010 ...
. In 2017 there was a major UK tour of McKenna's stage version of ''Not Dead Enough'' starring
Shane Richie
Shane Patrick Paul Roche (born 11 March 1964), known as Shane Richie, is a British actor, comedian, television presenter and singer. Following initial success as a stage and screen performer, he became best known for his portrayal of the charac ...
,
Laura Whitmore
Laura Whitmore (born 4 May 1985) is an Irish media personality and model based in London. She was a video jockey for MTV in 2008, and has since presented television shows, such as ''This Morning'' (2014), '' Survival of the Fittest'' (2018) ...
and
Stephen Billington
Stephen Billington (born 10 December 1964) is an English actor, best known for playing Greg Kelly in ''Coronation Street'' (for which he won the 1999 British Soap Award for Villain of the Year).
Career
Born in Farnworth, Lancashire, Billing ...
.
Bill Ward subsequently took over from Shane Richie. In 2019, Shaun's fourth Peter James adaptation ''The House On Cold Hill'' toured the UK with a cast led by
Joe McFadden
Joseph McFadden (born 9 October 1975) is a Scottish actor best known for his roles in ''The Crow Road,'' '' Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll, Heartbeat'' and '' Holby City.'' McFadden won the 2017 series of the BBC One series '' Strictly Come Dancing ...
,
Rita Simons
Rita Joanne Simons (born 10 March 1977) is an English actress and singer from London. She is best known for playing Roxy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2007 to 2017, when her character was killed-off, alongside her on screen ...
and
Charlie Clements
Charlie Clements (born 5 June 1987) is an English actor known for the role of Bradley Branning in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' from January 2006 to February 2010. He has won several soap and magazine awards for his performance.
Biograph ...
. McKenna's fifth Peter James adaptation, ''Looking Good Dead'', began a long UK tour in Leicester in June 2021 and, ended in April 2022. It starred
Adam Woodyatt
Adam Brinley Woodyatt (born 28 June 1968) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Ian Beale in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', which he played between 1985 and 2022.
Early life and education
Woodyatt was born on 28 June 1968 in W ...
and
Gaynor Faye
Gaynor Kay Mellor (born 26 August 1971), better known as Gaynor Faye, is an English actress and writer, best known for playing Judy Mallett in '' Coronation Street'' from 1995 until 1999 and Megan Macey in ''Emmerdale'' from 2012 until 201 ...
.
Laurie Brett
Laurie Brett (born 28 March 1969) is a Scottish actress, best known for her roles as Jane Beale in the BBC One soap opera '' EastEnders'' and Christine Mulgrew in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road''.
Early and personal life ...
subsequently took over the female lead. The next play in the series ''Wish You Were Dead'' begins a UK tour in February 2023.
In May 2021 his original thriller ''Rocky Road'' streamed during lockdown from
Jermyn Street Theatre
Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated on Jermyn Street, in London's West End. It is an off-west end studio theatre.
History
Jermyn Street Theatre opened in August 1994. It was formerly the changing rooms for staff at a Spaghetti ...
.
Tyger Drew-Honey
Lindzi James Tyger Drew-Honey (born 26 January 1996) is an English actor and television presenter. He is best known for his role as Jake Brockman in the British sitcom '' Outnumbered'', Citizen Khan as Richard Scab before later appearing in '' H ...
and
Kirsten Foster played the two roles, and the show was directed by Steven Kunis and designed by Ceci Calf.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre credits include ''Maddie'' (Salisbury Playhouse 1996, West End 1997) which he wrote with
Steven Dexter and
Stephen Keeling. He has subsequently written a book, ''Maddie and Us'', about the experience (see below).
He wrote the book for ''Lautrec'' (West End 2000), collaborating with
Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...
. Also that year, he and Stephen Keeling contributed additional material for ''
La Cava''.
McKenna wrote book and lyrics for the stage adaptation of
JRR Tolkien's ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'' (Toronto 2006, West End 2007) with
Matthew Warchus
Matthew Warchus (born 24 October 1966) is a British theatre director, filmmaker, lyricist, and playwright. He has been the Artistic Director of London's The Old Vic since September 2015.
Personal life
Warchus is married to American actress La ...
. The show won seven Dora Mavor Moore Awards including Best Musical for McKenna and Warchus. McKenna's work was nominated for an
Olivier Award
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...
for Best Musical.
In 2004 McKenna's musical adaptation of
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels.
Pratchett's first no ...
's ''
Only You Can Save Mankind
''Only You Can Save Mankind'' (1992 in literature, 1992) is the debut novel, first novel in the Johnny Maxwell trilogy of children's books and fifth young adult fiction, young adult novel by Terry Pratchett, author of the ''Discworld'' sequence ...
'' was premiered at the
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
, with music by Leighton James House and lyrics by Shaun McKenna. An album of songs was released in 2009, prior to a new production.
In 2005 McKenna and Stephen Keeling wrote ''
Heidi
''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' (german: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre) and ''Heidi: How She Use ...
'', entwining the famous children's story and the life of its creator
Johanna Spyri
Louise Spyri (; ; 12 June 1827 – 7 July 1901) was a Swiss author of novels, notably children's stories, and is best known for her book '' Heidi''. Born in Hirzel, a rural area in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, as a child she spent se ...
, which was first performed in an open-air production in
Walenstadt
Walenstadt is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Sarganserland in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It is located on Lake Walen (also known as "Lake Walenstadt").
Geography
Walenstadt has an area of . Of this area, ...
, Switzerland. ''Heidi II'', a sequel, followed in 2007 and 2008. ''The One True Thing'', a prequel, has been commissioned
He co-wrote ''Murder Mystery Musical'' with Alister Cameron and composer Richard Brown, which was performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 2009.
In September 2012 the York Theater in New York premiered a workshop lab production of ''Last Dance'', for which McKenna wrote the book. The songs are by
Paul Jabara
Paul Jabara, also known as Paul Frederick Jabara, (January 31, 1948 – September 29, 1992) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter of Lebanese ancestry, born in Brooklyn, New York. He wrote Donna Summer's Oscar-winning " Last Dance" from ...
and the show was directed by Philip Wm. McKinley.
He wrote the book for the arena show ''The Bible: In The Beginning'', with lyrics by Maribeth Derry, planned to open in the US in 2020.
With
Chet Walker
Chester Walker (born February 22, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player.
Born in Bethlehem, Mississippi, Walker played high school basketball for the Benton Harbor High School boys basketball team. He graduated from Bradley ...
, McKenna has written ''Being Jack Cole: The Last Scrapbook'' a new musical with original music by Guy Kitchenn which will workshop in London at the end of 2019. He has written lyrics for ''Celtic Warrior'', a new musical by
Marti Pellow and lyrics for four songs on Pellow's album
Stargazer.
In October 2022 the new British musical ''Are You As Nervous As I Am?'' opens at
Greenwich Theatre
Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London.
Theatre first came to Greenwich at the beginning of the 19th century during the famous Eastertide Greenwich Fair at which the Ric ...
in London. McKenna wrote the lyrics, with music by Leighton James House and book by
Simon Spencer. The cast is led by Katie Elin Salt as fictional diva Peggy Starr,
Bill Ward as husband Bob and Emma Thornett as her sister Janet.
Screen writing
For
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
Shaun McKenna wrote ''The Crooked Man'' (2003, a feature directed by David Drury for ARG), and the two part thriller
Like Father, Like Son (2005, directed by Nick Laughland for
Ecosse Films
Ecosse Films is a British film and television production company based in London. Ecosse Films produces programs for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Showtime, Sky Atlantic, Starz Channel and WGBH.
History
The first production of Ecosse Films was the 1 ...
).
He wrote seven episodes for the last three series of ''
TV series Heartbeat''. His first episode, ''One Small Step'' won a
Royal Television Society Yorkshire Award for Best Drama.
He had a two-part drama ''Cuckoo'' in development for
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
with TXTV. In 2014 and 2015 he wrote episodes of the BBC series ''Doctors.''
He wrote and researched several films in the ''
Great West End Theatres
''Great West End Theatres'' is a documentary series detailing the history, architecture and theatrical anecdotes of the 40 West End Theatres of London (as covered by the monthly Society of London Theatre list), released individually as All-Regi ...
'' series presented by Sir
Donald Sinden
Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was a British actor.
Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including ''The Cruel Sea (195 ...
.
Radio writing
In 2020 McKenna wrote two series of ''Eleanor Rising'', a BBC Radio 4 drama series about Eleanor of Aquitaine. With recording postponed by Covid 19, the first series was broadcast in November 2020, with the second series in April 2021. A third series recorded in June 2022 and will broadcast in September/October.
In July 2021 BBC Radio 4 broadcast his two-part reworking of a
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel '' Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...
novel, ''Joseph Andrews Remixed'' with a cast led by
Max Bennett,
Lyndsey Marshal
Lyndsey Marshal (born 16 June 1978) is an English actress best known for her performance in '' The Hours'', and as the recurring character Cleopatra on HBO's ''Rome'', and as Lady Sarah Hill in BBC period drama ''Garrow's Law''.
Biography
Mars ...
,
Angus Imrie
Angus William Jake Imrie (born 2 August 1994) is a British actor. He is known for playing the character Josh Archer in BBC Radio 4's long-running drama serial ''The Archers''. In 2014, he won the casting agency Spotlight's Most Promising Actor ...
and Michael Bertenshaw.
McKenna spent much of 2018 writing ''China Towns'', an eleven hour BBC Radio 4 series based on five novels by
Arnold Bennett
Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...
which was broadcast over six weekend in 2019 and is now available on
Audible
Audible may refer to:
* Audible (service), an online audiobook store
* Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks
* ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player
* Audible finish or ru ...
. McKenna and co-writer Lin Coghlan merged and entwined characters and plots from the novels to create a sweeping drama across five decades.
McKenna was a core writer on the BBC's 600-episode First World War drama ''
Home Front
Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the full participation of the British public in World War I who suffered Zeppelin raids and endured food rations as part of what came t ...
'', which began broadcasting daily episodes on 4 August 2014. Each episode is set exactly one hundred years before the date of transmission, and centres on a single character's story of life at home during the Great War. He was lead writer on seasons three, six and twelve. ''
Home Front
Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the full participation of the British public in World War I who suffered Zeppelin raids and endured food rations as part of what came t ...
'' ran until 11 November 2018, the centenary of the end of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
McKenna was commissioned by BBC Radio 4, alongside Lyn Coghlin, to adapt all nine of
John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy (; 14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include ''The Forsyte Saga'' (1906–1921) and its sequels, ''A Modern Comedy'' and ''End of the Chapter''. He won the Nobel Prize i ...
's ''Forsyte'' novels, to be transmitted from 2016. The cast includes
Joseph Millson
Joseph Millson (born 27 April 1974) is an English actor and singer. He trained at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup, London.
Personal life
Millson married singer and actress Caroline Fitzgerald in the summer of 1999. The ...
as Soames,
Juliet Aubrey
Juliet Emma Aubrey (born 17 December 1966) is a British actress of theatre, film, and television. She won the 1995 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for playing Dorothea in the BBC serial ''Middlemarch'' (1994). She is also known for her role a ...
as Irene and
Jessica Raine
Jessica Raine (born Jessica Helen Lloyd; 20 May 1982) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Jenny Lee in the television series ''Call the Midwife'' (2012–2014) and Verity Lambert in the television film '' An Adventure in ...
as Fleur. The complete series is now available on
Audible
Audible may refer to:
* Audible (service), an online audiobook store
* Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks
* ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player
* Audible finish or ru ...
. McKenna adapted four of the eight
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...
George Smiley
George Smiley OBE is a fictional character created by John le Carré. Smiley is a career intelligence officer with "The Circus", the British overseas intelligence agency. He is a central character in the novels ''Call for the Dead'', '' A Mu ...
novels shown in BBC Radio Four's "Complete Smiley" season – ''
A Murder of Quality
''A Murder of Quality'' is the second novel by John le Carré, published in 1962. It features George Smiley, the most famous of le Carré's recurring characters, in his only book set outside the espionage community.
Plot summary
Long retired s ...
'', ''
The Looking Glass War
''The Looking Glass War'' is a 1965 spy novel by John le Carré. Written in response to the positive public reaction to his previous novel, ''The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'', the book explores the unglamorous nature of espionage and the da ...
'', ''
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' is a 1974 spy novel by British author John le Carré. It follows the endeavours of taciturn, aging spymaster George Smiley to uncover a Soviet mole in the British Secret Intelligence Service. The novel has receive ...
'' and ''
The Honourable Schoolboy
''The Honourable Schoolboy'' (1977) is a spy novel by British writer John le Carré. George Smiley must reconstruct an intelligence service in order to run a successful offensive espionage operation to save the service from being dismantled by ...
'' (2009–2010), all of which have been released on BBC audiobooks. He later adapted
Winston Graham
Winston Mawdsley Graham OBE, born Winston Grime (30 June 1908 – 10 July 2003), was an English novelist best known for the Poldark series of historical novels set in Cornwall, though he also wrote numerous other works, including contemporary ...
's novel ''
Marnie
''Marnie'' is an English crime novel, written by Winston Graham and first published in 1961. It has been adapted as a film, a stage play and an opera.
Plot
''Marnie'' is about a young woman who makes a living by embezzling her employers' funds, ...
'' for Radio 4 (2011) and
Rosemary Sutcliff
Rosemary Sutcliff (14 December 1920 – 23 July 1992) was an English novelist best known for children's books, especially historical fiction and retellings of myths and legends. Although she was primarily a children's author, some of her novel ...
's ''Brother Dusty Feet'' for Radio 4 Extra.
He wrote both original and adapted radio dramas for
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
: ''
The Postman Always Rings Twice'' (1993), ''Meeting Jack'' (1995), ''The Ghost Train'' (1997), ''
East of Eden'' (Classic Serial, 2000), ''Me and Little Boots'' (2000) a comedy about Caligula's horse with
Leslie Phillips
Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...
, ''
Smiles of a Summer Night
''Smiles of a Summer Night'' ( sv, Sommarnattens leende) is a 1955 Swedish comedy film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was shown at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. In 2005 ''TIME'' magazine ranked it one of the 100 greatest films s ...
'' (2001) with
Samuel West
Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, narrator and theatre director. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor across theatre, film, television and radio. He often appears as reciter with orche ...
and
Nicholas Farrell
Nicholas C. Frost (born 1955), known professionally as Nicholas Farrell, is an English stage, film and television actor.
Education
Farrell was educated at Fryerns Grammar and Technical School in Basildon, Essex, followed by the University of ...
, ''Seawyf and Biscuit'' (2002), ''
The Cry of the Owl'' (2002), a World Service adaptation of ''
Mrs. Warren's Profession
''Mrs. Warren's Profession'' is a play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1893, and first performed in London in 1902. The play is about a former prostitute, now a madam (brothel proprietor), who attempts to come to terms with her disapproving ...
'' (2002), and the radio adaptation of ''
To Serve Them All My Days
: ''For the 1980 television adaptation, see To Serve Them All My Days (TV series).''
''To Serve Them All My Days'' is a novel by British author R. F. Delderfield.
First published in 1972, the book was adapted for television in 1980. It has b ...
'' (2005).
Other
McKenna edited eight books of 'Scenes for Actors' for
Oberon Books
Oberon Books is a London-based independent publisher of drama texts and books on theatre. The company publishes around 100 titles per year, many of them plays by new writers. In addition, the list contains a range of titles on theatre studies, act ...
. In 2020 he published a book about the making of his first musical ''Maddie'', called ''Maddie and Us'' which was briefly
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
's best selling theatre book.
References
External links
shaunmckenna.me*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Shaun
1957 births
Alumni of the University of Bristol
English dramatists and playwrights
English lyricists
English screenwriters
English male screenwriters
Living people
People from Maidstone
People educated at Maidstone Grammar School
English male dramatists and playwrights