Ned Manning is a writer, actor and educator. He has written over 30 plays, including ten for the Bell Shakespeare Company and the play that led to Griffin Theatre Company transforming from a co-op to a professional company. Alice Dreaming, a large-cast play for young people, has had over 30 productions and remains a popular play both for schools and young people’s theatre groups. Ned’s memoir about teaching, Playground Duty, has become required reading for anyone interested in teaching. He has written extensively for a number of publications as an advocate of teaching and public education. Ned has also appeared in many highly regarded Australian productions including Mr Inbetween, Looking for Alibrandi, The Shiralee and Bodyline as well as starring in the cult hit, Dead End Drive In.
Today, Ned Manning is on the blog to answer a few of our questions about his new novel, Painting the Light. Read on …
Ned Manning
Please tell us about your book, Painting the Light!
NM: Painting the Light is a book set pre, during and post-WW2. It is a love story about how the experiences of the war years propel two young Australians to devote their lives to making Australia a better, more inclusive society offering equal opportunity for all.
Where did the inspiration for this story come from?
NM: The book is based on my parents lives and the lives of a number of their friends. The events all took place but the characters are fictional.
Painting the Light touches on all different kinds of conflict — global wars, regional political spats, interpersonal struggles … As a writer, what interests you about this theme of conflict?
NM: As a playwright, I have learnt that there is no drama without conflict whether that conflict be personal or external. With this book I was interested in examining what drives people to put themselves at risk fighting for their beliefs. How does war change people? Do we learn anything from conflict? The central characters in this story devote themselves to making the world a better place after their experiences of war. This bring them into conflict with those who benefit from maintaining the status quo, essentially suppressing the less better off.
What kind of research did you do to immerse yourself in the wartime period?
NM: I spent years reading letters, interviewing people and trawling through old photographs from the period. I read widely and spent time in the War Memorial and the National Library searching for archival materail.
‘As a playwright, I have learnt that there is no drama without conflict, whether that conflict be personal or external.’
Nell Hope nurses dreams of an artistic career, but the realities of war and post-war life make things difficult for her. Is that a struggle that you can relate to?
NM: Well, I didn’t go to war but I suppose it is true that I have had to fight to have an artistic career. I think that’s true of all artists. Being a teacher and an artist has been a struggle at times in that some people have tried to pigeon hole me as one or the other, usually not recognising me as an artist.
Can you tell us a little bit about your journey towards becoming a writer?
NM: I have always loved writing. I was writing stories as a schoolboy and had some published in the school magazine. I wrote plays and poems at school. I love writing and have always written journals and nowadays a blog. I have always said if I could sing I would have been a singer but as I’m a terrible singer, I write. Anyone can write. As a teacher I that is something I have always encouraged. The most important thing as a writer is to trust yourself and write the way you write. Everyone has a story to tell.
You’ve written for theatre and film, and this is your first novel. Did you find the writing process to be very different? What did you love the most about it?
NM: Writing a novel has been incredibly liberating. Writing for both theatre and film demands consideration of cast size, locations, staging, budget and theatricality. I have loved being able to tell the story I wanted to tell without any restrictions of that nature. I have also loved working with my editors who have been brilliant at cautioning me about repeating myself.
What is the last book you read and loved?
NM: The Overstory by Richard Powers.
What do you hope readers will discover in Painting the Light?
NM: I hope they will discover and hold on to their ideals and idealism
And finally, what’s up next for you?
NM: Writing reports and programs at work…and another book!
Thanks Ned!
—Painting the Light by Ned Manning (Broadcast Books) is out now.
Painting the Light
Nell Hope’s dreams of becoming an artist are dashed when Hitler invades Poland. Her grazier father orders her home from Paris, and so she swaps her paint brush for riding boots.
Alec Murray’s loyalist instincts propel him to leave his farm in western NSW and enlist in the AIF to defend Britain against the impending Nazi threat.
They meet in the hyper-charged atmosphere of prewar Sydney and fall in love, but their courtship is cut short when war is declared. Alec is sent to the Middle East where his eyes are opened to a new world...
What do we know about the Boy Swallows Universe Netflix show? 
Booktopia’s top thrilling fiction picks for Crime Month 
Booktopia’s Top First Nations Book Recommendations for 2023
Comments
No comments