"The Ferryman"

April 28, 2024 — Cory Lawson took on the monumental task of directing the twenty-one actors, adults and children, for the Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith, New Hampshire, one of the largest casts ever put on stage here. The play was The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth. It won multiple awards for best play, among them the Tony. It drew a nearly full house for each of its four performances at the Playhouse. In nearly four hours, including two ten-minute intermissions, the audience's enthusiasm never flagged, nor did the cast's energy the day I attended the final show.

Set in Armagh, Northern Ireland, during the time the Irish called "The Troubles," Quinn Carney (Michael G. Baker), a former IRA member, and Caitlin Carney (Kyrie Ellison) are settling into a life of farming, sharing a house with their large extended family. But they're haunted by Caitlin's missing father, Seamus. When Seamus' body is found in a bog, their grief is still fresh when they're visited by the smiling but menacing IRA man Muldoon (Brendan Berube) and his henchmen. Muldoon warns them they must convince everyone the IRA had nothing to do with Seamus' death, but Quinn refuses to agree.

I can't review twenty-one players individually. There were many noteworthy performances, among the children as well as adults. They had mastered their Irish accents to varying degrees of success, some convincing, some may not have fooled a native of Ireland. Here are a few outstanding performances in my opinion. First of all, the players mentioned in the previous paragraph. The outspoken, profane Aunt Patricia Carney (Tamara McGonagle) dominated much of the second act with her rants. Wheelchair-bound Aunt Maggie Faraway (Lynne Rainen) appeared speechless for a long period of time, until she began singing, and later had plenty to say. Uncle Patrick Carney (Ken Chapman, a Winnipesaukee regular) rambled comically about the old days.

The play is not all grief. There are laughs, singing and dancing. But there's also much anger slowly building to devastating consequences. It's a play exhibiting many emotions. The title refers to Charon in Greek mythology who ferries the dead across the River Styx to Hades.