In 1947, The New York Times chose a novel set in Victorian Glasgow as its book of the month. The Wax Fruit trilogy, by Guy McCrone is a sweeping, literary tour de force that tells the rambunctious, multi-generational saga of a struggling Ayrshire farming family who settle in Glasgow and establish themselves in a city pulsing with grimy opportunity. Now, eight decades after they first enchanted America’s literary establishment, the three books are being brought to life in one of the most ambitious screen productions ever attempted in Scotland .
Curiously, Guy McCrone’s masterpiece has been half-forgotten in Scotland’s literary canon. A BBC Radio Four adaptation of the first book in the trilogy, Antimacassar City, was produced in 2012. In 1975, a single episode was screened by BBC1 Scotland, who then opted not to fund the remainder.
A cast featuring Scotland’s most gifted actors, producers and designers have been working quietly together over the last four years to make it happen. It includes Bill Paterson, Juliet Cadzow, Martin Compston, Shirley Henderson, Elaine C Smith and Ashley Jensen. The project has come together under the guidance of the respected Glasgow producer, Sarah Purser and her company, Little White Rose Films.
After reading Scottish Literature at Strathclyde University, Ms Purser worked in film and television throughout Europe and has co-produced with Scotland’s theatre phenomenon, A Play, A Pie and a Pint. Elaine C Smith in Wax Fruit (Image: Mark Mai.