Event SW01: Transformations: Ian McEwan At The Movies

In the first of two events for the Festival of Chichester, both of which are linked to productions at Chichester Festival Theatre, this talk explores the many screen adaptations of the work of novelist Ian McEwan

Ian McEwan is Britain’s pre-eminent literary novelist, with 18 best-sellers and numerous prizes to his name. Less well-known is McEwan’s film and screenwriting work, from BBC dramas like The Ploughman’s Lunch (1983) to the Academy Award blockbuster Atonement (2007) and screen adaptations of his more recent books. Often his stories pivot on a moment of crisis when something shocking collides with daily reality, raising profound moral and existential questions. Always fascinating, often challenging, but do they make for great cinema? In this talk, Nick Johnston-Jones reviews Ian McEwan’s 40 years of screen work alongside his burgeoning literary output, illustrated with a range of clips. It considers his fascination with dark and taboo material in early films such as The Comfort of Strangers (1990) and The Cement Garden (1993), to the scientific and political issues explored in later titles like The Child in Time (2017) or Enduring Love (2004).

The film version of Atonement will screen after the Talk at 13.00.
As companion pieces, the cinema will also be screening McEwan’s Enduring Love on June 20 at 13.00 and On Chesil Beach on June 27 at 13.00.

The stage version of Atonement runs from 29 May to 20 June at Chichester Festival Theatre.