The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth

Gielgud Theatre, August 3, 2017

When a new Jez Butterworth peaks out from the Royal Court, you get excited. When it’s directed by Sam Mendes, you get ecstatic.

I am so glad I got a ticket. This is a bloody good story, exceptionally well written and masterfully directed, creating such dramatic tension at the end that I could hardly breathe.

There are so many layers to this play, each one expertly created. Butterworth pulls at your emotions, tricks you into second guessing what’s next (always falsely) and at times lulls you into a false sense of security ready to pull the rug from under you.

This is Northern Ireland in the early 80s, at the height of IRA activity and Thatcher’s response. It’s the time of Bobby Sands hunger strike, a people with a strong sense of national identity and right and wrong.

Our setting is the Carney farmhouse kitchen and the play takes place over 24 hours. For us that translates to 3 hours. They fly by. We are introduced to a cosy family chaos that soon reveals so much more.

The whole cast are incredible (yay for child actors that can act and are not all “stage-schooly”). It’s Paddy Considine’s night. He’s the central patriarch and the heart of this play. He’s wonderful. More of him on the London stage please.

5/5 Jez Butterworth + Sam Mendes = storytelling gold.