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The Ferryman

Chris O'Rourke

Charlene McKenna, Aaron McCusker in The Ferryman. Image, Marcin Lewandowski.

*****

It might come as a surprise but The Gaiety, home to the Christmas Panto and Riverdance, has produced many important plays in recent years exploring Irish identity. Works new and old, not necessarily by Irish writers, that entertain and educate as they address our sense of ourselves. The Ferryman being a case in point. Jez Butterworth’s epically ambitious play, first produced in 2017, finally receiving its Irish premiere at The Gaiety. Which is very good news. For The Ferryman is a cracking tale, superbly directed, terrifically designed, and with a cast that’s simply to die for. Set in 1981, Butterworth’s generational, family drama highlights the trials and joys of the Carney family as they prepare to gather the annual harvest. Staunch, Irish nationalists living in Armagh whose son, Seamus, ‘disappeared’ ten years before. A euphemism for alleged traitors murdered by the IRA whose bodies were never found. Unless unearthed by accident. The discovery of Seamus’s remains at a time when the IRA was enjoying public sympathy on account of the Hunger Strikes making for an inconvenient truth. Intimidations to deny IRA involvement placing unbearable strain on an extended family already tearing itself apart.

The Ferryman. Image, Marcin Lewandowski.


Following a brooding prologue, steeped in verse, foreshadowing the darkness and dangers to come, The Ferryman divides neatly into three sections. The first act aswirl with the coarse, caring and commonplace cruelties of family dynamics played out around the kitchen table. A garrulous Niall Buggy superb as the loquacious, bookish layabout Uncle Patrick, crossing swords with an equally superb Anna Healy’s as the self righteous nationalist, Aunt Patricia. Meanwhile a terrific Brid Ní Neachtain as the crone like Aunt Maggie drifts in and out of the spirit world. Throw in some feisty nephews, a husband and wife, Seamus’ widow, and a modest tribe of children and the scene is set for a recognisable family sit com. In which rumours, gossip, emotional affairs and unresolved tensions turn the pressure up. Come the second act, women become foregrounded as mothers, virgins, and witch like crones recall forgotten pasts and predict unwritten futures. Women the true victims of war, along with children, as men attempt to justify their actions. Evident in the third, male dominated, and least satisfying act in which the truth doesn't set you free so much as contrive to become a death wish. The Ferryman’s chickens coming home violently to roost as bluster turns to deeds. The ending sudden and explosive, albeit feeling forced, unconvincing and a little contrived.

Orén Kinlan, Lilymai Clancy, Anna Healy, Ava Molloy, Vega Farrelly, Bríd Ní Neachtain in The Ferryman.

Image, Marcin Lewandowski.


A mix of realism and Greek tragedy, Butterworth’s indulgent, three and a half hour script is unafraid of taking its time. If this allows some scenes to breathe, it can serve up unnecessary colour rather than moving action forward. The political, personal and mythological colliding with sentimentalised notions of tragic Irishness tipping uncomfortably into breezy cliche at times. Violent, whiskey swilling, fighting talk, replete with singsongs, stories and poetic lapses loom large. Yet it never topples into excess; walking a tightrope between myth and history, story and fact, this world and the next. Liminality present in Ciaran Bagnall’s angular set bathed in twilight glow capturing reality and nostalgia. Sinead Cuthbert’s costumes highlighting the look of the period.

Charlene McKenna, Aaron McCusker, Sarah Morris in The Ferryman. Image, Marcin Lewandowski.


Throughout, Andrew Flynn superbly directs a stellar cast. Aaron McCusker as Quinn Carney and Charlene McKenna as Caitlin Carney crackle with contagious chemistry. Joe Hanley delighting as the village idiot, Tom Kettle, breaks your heart in an extraordinarily moving scene reiniscent of Barry Geoghan in The Banshees of Inisherin. Sarah Morris superb as Mary Carney, a role that risks being a lightweight cameo which Morris imbues with strength and grace. Laurence Kinlan as the threatening heavy Muldoon is equally superb, ably supported by Robbie O’Connor and Andrew Graham McClay. But it’s the four, young Carney sisters who light up the stage. Olivia Byrne, Lilymai Clancy and Ava Molloy each hugely impressive. Along with a scene stealing fourth sister, Honor Carney, rotated between Francesca Europa, Matilda Gavin and Vega Farrelly. That said, an adorable goose and real life rabbit risk stealing everyone’s limelight.


Whilst the 'disappeared' provide inspiration and focus, The Ferryman casts a much wider net. Asking questions about who we are, who we were and who we might become. And at what cost? Entertaining, educating, enlightening, it might be a marathon more than a sprint, but The Ferryman delivers a terrific production that's not to be missed.


The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth, presented by Gaiety Productions, runs at The Gaiety Theatre until March 15.


For more information visit The Gaiety Theatre

1 Comment


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2 days ago

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