Director Andrew Flynn introduces his production of Jez Butterworth's award-winning play The Ferryman, which continues at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin until March 15th.
As I sit down to write this piece on a Friday night train from Dublin to Galway, it's our 25th day of rehearsals for Gaiety Productions’ professional Irish Premiere of The Ferryman.
I have just left a rehearsal room of 23 actors who have just given their all to a run through of this 3-hour play.
I try to remember my first thoughts when I read this Jez Butterworth script and the word epic springs to mind.
The Ferryman is Epic with a capital E.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Listen: The Ferryman reviewed for RTÉ Arena
Set in rural Armagh in 1981, this brilliant play spans 24 hours in the Carney farmhouse. Three generations of the Carney family prepare for a Harvest meal when events from a darker past re-surface to throw shadows on the harvest sun.
Jez Butterworth’s text is a comic-tragic thriller with a powerful story. A family drama set against the backdrop of a political war. The Ferryman is a family drama, a love story and political thriller all brought together with brilliant storytelling.
The Ferryman is Epic with a capital E.
It's the kind of play that doesn’t tend to be written anymore. A cast of 23 actors, a goose, a rabbit and a baby!
This very modern play feels akin to the larger epic works of Sean O’Casey or Eugene O’Neill. Like O’Casey’s bigger plays, The Ferryman uses political upheaval as the backdrop and landscape of the play, but the story is told through the experiences of ordinary people. This is what makes the play so compelling. You get to live with the Carney family. Witness their love, their fears, their struggles.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Listen: Director Andrew Flynn and actor Anna Healy talk The Ferryman with RTÉ Arena
When I first read it, I was truly excited by the text. But I put it away as I didn’t really believe a large-scale production would ever be a reality! It was too epic to even dream of directing it.
Gaiety Productions are to be commended for having the bravery to take on this Irish premiere.
With a wonderful cast of Irish actors and an award-winning creative team, a night at The Ferryman is an experience. This production will make you laugh, make you cry and shine a very bright light on the complexities of conflict. And it will be truly Epic, in every way imaginable.
The Ferryman is at The Gaiety Theatre, Dublin until March 15th, 2025 - find out more here
