Reviewed by James
Karas
The Ferryman is
theatre on a grand scale. English playwright Jez Butterworth manages to deal
with national issues and personal histories seamlessly, brilliantly and deftly
so as to produce a superb play. The play is about the execution of a man that
Butterworth expands into almost all the history of the occupation of Ireland by
the English and especially the Time of Troubles in Northern Ireland in the
1970’s and later It is also about the history of a large family which stands
for the tragedy of individuals and the story of Northern Ireland.
All of this takes place in about a day in the kitchen of the Carney
family on a farm in County Armagh in Northern Ireland at the end of August,
1981.
The play opens dramatically. The well-preserved body of a man is found
in bog water. It is that of Seamus Carney who was shot in the back of the head
in 1971. Two tough guys interrogate Father Horrigan and the third, Muldoon,
demands that the priest tell him what Seamus’s brother reveals to the priest during
confession.
Thus begins the multi-layered and complex saga of the relations between
England and the IRA and the story of the large Carney family that is caught in
the middle. One may well say that the story really began with the crime of the
invasion of Ireland by the English many centuries ago. The Irish at first and
then the Catholics of Northern Ireland demanded some rights. The English
responded with suppression, intimidation, imprisonment, torture and shooting.
The IRA responded with hunger strikes, terrorism and murder. The murders
are not confined to the English alone. They murder their own if they suspect
them of disloyalty or treachery. Combined with religious intolerance, the
situation provides a perfect definition of barbarism.
Quinn (Will Houston) and Mary (Catherine McCormack) Carney have seven
children ranging in ages from a few months to sixteen years. They also have the
garrulous Uncle Patrick (Mark Lambert), Aunt Maggie Far Away (Maureen Beattie)
who is usually very far away but does have moments of lucidity and the tough
and crotchety Aunt Patricia (Dearbhila Molloy).
Caitlin Carney (Sarah Greene), the widow of Seamus and the sister-in-law
of Quinn, plays a central role in the play. She has to deal with the lies about
the death of her husband, her son, her relationship with Quinn and her
intuitive intelligence about the whole situation.
It is the day of harvest and the Carneys and the young Corcorans are
eating, laughing and preparing for the joyous harvest. At the same time the
news of the discovery of Seamus’s body and the possible consequences for the
family and the IRA are being revealed. The complex facts unfold slowly,
dramatically, interspersed with humour, dancing and singing. There
are intricate issues of morality, of pride, of freedom, of murder and of simple
lying. The murderous Muldoon (Stuart Graham), arrogant, cold-blooded, a man who
is possessed by the cause he represents and would kill without mercy, appears again.
The charade of lies is slowly discarded until the play comes to an intensely
dramatic end that leaves you stunned and breathless.
There are times when most of the large cast of twenty-two actors is on
stage which, except for the first scene, is the Carney’s kitchen. Director Sam
Mendes has no difficulty handling the crowd. Better still his deft directing brings
out all the drama, humour and tragedy of the personal and national tragedies to
the fore.
The ensemble and individual acting never fall below superb. Sarah Greene
and Will Houston are outstanding in their portrayal of the people most deeply
affected by the surfacing of Seamus’s body. Their relationship is a key element
in the play and Greene outshines all the others.
The ferryman of the title refers to the boatman of classical mythology
who transports the souls of the dead across the River Styx to Hades. The image
adds to the epic proportion of the play and the grandness of the themes that it
deals with. Indeed the plot unfolds like a Homeric epic and The Ferryman
provides a great night at the theatre.
_________
The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth continues until May 19, 2018 (and its run may well be
extended) at the Gielgud Theatre, Shaftesbury Ave. London, England.
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