The Ferryman – Gaiety Theatre – Review

Dates: 27th Jan. – 15th Mar.
Photo Credit – Marcin Lewandowski

The play deals with the extended Carney family, in County Armagh, Northern Ireland in 1981. Quinn Carney (Aaron McCusker) lives with his wife Mary (Sarah Morris) on their family farm, along with their children. Another family is living in the house, and we meet Caitlin (Charlene McKenna) and her son Oisín (Orén Kinlan). Caitlin is married to Quinn’s brother Seamus, who disappeared 10 years earlier. The events of the play take place as news arrives that Seamus’ body has been found, ending their long period of waiting.

The play is a sprawling work, with three generations of the Carney family explored. We see how they interact with each other and deal with life during The Troubles. The cast is vast, with 23 actors on stage during the production. As if that wasn’t difficult enough, the play also features a real-life baby, a rabbit and a goose! There is an element of madness in the air with the cast members arriving and leaving the stage. At times there are songs and dance, where music plays and the whole stage erupts in movement. The logistics of it are quite daunting, but somehow all the various strands hold together.

The events take place at harvest time, and it is a time of celebration for the family, as their hard work over the last year has been rewarded. The set for the play is the sitting room of the Carney farmhouse. A flight of stairs at the rear of the stage allow the cast members to leave to the unseen bedrooms, and there are other entrances on either side of the stage, allowing for much movement.

The play is a marathon and lasts over three and a half hours, including the two intervals. At times it feels like several small plays, with different scenes focusing on the minor characters, giving them their moment in the limelight. It shows the voice of several different generations and their views of the world. The young people demand immediate change while the older generations want calm and safety for their children.

The play has already received many plaudits from previous productions, including Best New Play from the Laurence Olivier Awards (in 2017) and the Tony Awards (in 2019). It is surprising it has taken so long for the play to be performed in Ireland, but this is possibly due to the size of the cast more than the controversial subject matter. The cast is impressive, with Charlene McKenna showing a mix of vulnerability and strength in her performance as Caitlin. Aaron McCusker as Quinn always seems on the brink of collapse, as he holds the family together. As you would expect from a work of this length, it offers scenes of humour and merriment, along with the more haunting moments. The play has an explosive finale that left many in the theatre needing a stiff drink! It is a play that demands much of its audience but offers much in return.

Starring:

Aaron McCusker (Bohemian Rhapsody, Shameless),
Alex Murphy (The Young Offenders, Conversations with Friends),
Andrew McClay (Ballywalter),
Anna Healy (Orlando),
Ava Molloy (Keep it Up!),
Bríd Ní Neachtain (The Banshees of Inisherin),
Charlene McKenna (Raw, Peaky Blinders, Clean Sweep),
Colm O’Brien (The Last Right),
Dane Whyte-O’Hara (Darklands),
Ely Solan (Detainment, The Man Who Invented Christmas),
Francesca Europa (House Across The Street),
James Murphy (Line of Duty),
Joe Hanley (Fair City),
Laurence Kinlan (Love/Hate),
Lilymai Clancy (Rebellion and Resistance),
Matilda Gavin (Glitch),
Olivia Byrne (Hangmen),
Orén Kinlan (Flora and Son),
Robbie O’Connor (Cold Case Collins),
Robert Hamilton (Pride of the Shore),
Sarah Morris (Small Things Like These),
Vega Farrelly (Small Things Like These)
and Niall Buggy (Father Ted)