The Ferryman
May. 13th, 2018 06:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smallhobbitSM and I had originally been going up to London for the weekend. But then TD's half marathon was snowed off (this was the middle of March) and she was determined to run one, since she had been fundraising hard (for Make A Wish Foundation) so she asked her dad if he'd like to join her. Which he did.
This left me going to London on my own, so, since I could then travel earlier I decided to book an additional play for the Friday night. I'd seen a lot of good reviews for The Ferryman, and then a friend saw it and said how good it was, so it made up my mind. Maybe it wasn't a play I'd travel for, but since I was already in London, why miss out on something which I might regret not seeing.
The Ferryman is a new play written by Jez Butterworth and directed by Sam Mendes, both big names in the current theatre world. It's set in Northern Ireland in 1981, in the middle of the troubles and just after Bobby Sands and other hunger strikers have died.
It's the story of a family who receive fateful news one harvest time, and how the outworking of that news brings trouble and ultimately tragedy. The people are very real and complex and nothing is quite as clear cut as could be expected. Which is very true to life. It shows how political actions affect ordinary people and how the insistence of the rightness of a cause can have untold repercussions on individuals.
It's very thoughprovoking, and still relevant. It was well acted, but none of the cast leapt out at me - and equally none pulled it down. Not the play to see if you are looking for simple entertainment, but gripping and well worth seeing.
This left me going to London on my own, so, since I could then travel earlier I decided to book an additional play for the Friday night. I'd seen a lot of good reviews for The Ferryman, and then a friend saw it and said how good it was, so it made up my mind. Maybe it wasn't a play I'd travel for, but since I was already in London, why miss out on something which I might regret not seeing.
The Ferryman is a new play written by Jez Butterworth and directed by Sam Mendes, both big names in the current theatre world. It's set in Northern Ireland in 1981, in the middle of the troubles and just after Bobby Sands and other hunger strikers have died.
It's the story of a family who receive fateful news one harvest time, and how the outworking of that news brings trouble and ultimately tragedy. The people are very real and complex and nothing is quite as clear cut as could be expected. Which is very true to life. It shows how political actions affect ordinary people and how the insistence of the rightness of a cause can have untold repercussions on individuals.
It's very thoughprovoking, and still relevant. It was well acted, but none of the cast leapt out at me - and equally none pulled it down. Not the play to see if you are looking for simple entertainment, but gripping and well worth seeing.
no subject
Date: 2018-05-22 08:41 pm (UTC)I’m intrigued by your description of The Ferryman and it seems like an interesting play.
no subject
Date: 2018-05-22 08:50 pm (UTC)The Ferryman was well worth seeing - I'm glad I had the opportunity.