The Ferryman - Gielgud Theatre

The Ferryman

Gielgud Theatre
Shaftesbury Avenue,
London, W1D 6AR

Northern Ireland, 1981. The Carney family prepare for the annual harvest with a day of hard work on the land and a traditional night of feasting and celebration ahead. But this year they will be interrupted by a visitor.

This is just the simplest possible introduction to this play directed by Oscar winner Sam Mendes. The writer of this play that has been nominated for EIGHT Olivier Awards this year is Jez Butterworth whose most recent work on television was the fantastical Britannia - which I quite enjoyed, but after being addicted to "Game of Thrones", that's a difficult genre for anyone else to measure up to.

The Ferryman however is a different matter altogether and here Jez Butterworth has hit it out of the park. The play lasts just over 3 hours, but the intensity is maintained throughout and there isn't a single moment where audience interest lags. It has a huge ensemble cast including some kids, a baby, a goose and a rabbit! I don't remember any play in the recent past which had live animals on stage...

Rob Howell's set is picture perfect and is literally a character in this ensemble cast.

The play is rooted in the tragedy of "the disappeared" during the Irish Troubles : where family members just disappeared with no body to be found, sometimes for decades. Butterworth has said When somebody disappears for 10 years time stops, which is what I really think the play is about.” Laura Donnelly (who originally played the role of Caitlin Carney) was just a child when her uncle was taken away by the IRA, shot and dumped in a bog — a story that is retold in The Ferryman.

While this is the heart of the story, the play is also about family dynamics and relationships, teenage angst, patriotism and how it can be twisted into radicalisation and the private devastation by wars.

When the play started, we were a little concerned about being able to follow the Irish brogue, but after the first few minutes, we quickly fell into the cadence and were thoroughly drawn into the family drama.

The acting is absolutely brilliant and as an audience member, it feels like you have stepped into a charged Christmas family dinner at the most inopportune moment, when you don't know if it would be politer to stay or go.

Rosalie Craig as Caitlin Carney, Owen McDonnell as Quinn Carney, Sian Thomas as bitter Aunt Pat, Justin Edwards as slow Tom Kettle, Stella McCusker as faraway Aunt Maggie, Mark Lambert as Uncle Pat trying to steer the conversation away from explosive topics are each outstanding. But for me, the absolute stand out in this fantastic cast was Alex Warburton as Declan Corcoran.

The Ferryman is very very powerful storytelling and definitely worth a full 5 stars. Its running at the Gielgud Theatre until 19th May. It has been extended a couple of times in the last few months, but if you can find tickets, don't wait, just go.

Disclainer : Images taken from The Ferryman website