Susan Granger’s review of “The Ferryman” (Bernard B. Jacobs Theater)
Ireland has one of the world’s richest story-telling traditions, perhaps because of the Celtic appreciation for the spoken word and the vivid use of poetic language.
Adding to that is Jez Butterworth’s compelling saga of the large, sprawling Carney family, set in the late summer of 1981 in rural County Amagh in Northern Ireland, as they prepare for the celebratory Harvest Feast.
There’s grain farmer Quinn Carney (Paddy Considine), his ailing wife Mary (Genevieve O’Reilly) and their seven children (ages 9 mos. To 16 years). Their multigenerational clan includes loquacious Uncle Pat (Mark Lambert), cranky Aunt Patricia (Dearbhla Malloy), dementia-addled Aunt Maggie Far Away (Fionnula Flanagan) and Tom Kettle (Justin Edwards), a dim-witted British boy who was abandoned at age 12 and has been the Carney handyman for the past 30 years.
Quinn’s brother Seamus, suspected of being an IRA informer, has been mysteriously missing for 10 years, so his wife, Caitlin Carney (Laura Donnelly), and brooding, teenage son Oisin (Rob Malone) live there too. That morning, the parish priest Father Horrigan (Charles Dale) delivers news that Seamus’ corpse has been found in a bog with a bullet hole in his skull.
During this politically tense period known as The Troubles, Republican inmates at Maze Prison are on a hunger strike, demanding recognition as political prisoners, which uncompromising Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher refuses to do. Plus there’s an unwelcome visit from local IRA leader Muldoon (Dean Ashton) and his henchmen (Dean Ashton, Glenn Speers).
As for the title, according to Greek mythology in Virgil’s Aeneid, the two kinds of souls that are refused passage across the River Styx by Charon, the Underworld ferryman, are the unburied and liars; in this case, it’s the revered who betray their trust.
This harrowing thriller is astutely directed by Sam Mendes, who seamlessly juggles the huge cast of 21, along with a scene-stealing baby, a live goose and a rabbit. Kudos to Rob Howell’s farmhouse set, Peter Mumford’s lighting, Nick Powell’s sound and Scarlett Mackmin’s choreography.
Every member of the high-spirited ensemble delivers a vibrantly memorable performance, particularly Paddy Considine, Fionnula Flanagan, and Laura Donnelly (Butterworth’s partner, whose family in Belfast inspired the drama.)
FYI: Jez Butterworth and Sam Mendes previously collaborated on the James Bond movies “Skyfall” and “Spectre.”
Running 3 hours and 15 minutes with an intermission, “The Ferryman” is the hottest ticket on Broadway.