Ferryman accents

[Mike66]

Posted: 1/11/19 at 12:05pm

Saw and loved Ferryman this past weekend. Well, I loved it when I could understand it. The accents were very very hard for me, and I lost a lot of dialogue.

I thought it was me, except that at intermission and leaving the theater, I heard lots of people commenting that they didnt understand this or that -- large chunks of material.

And sitting around after the show and talking with the group that went -- there were a half dozen people who basically heard just parts of it.

Since the plot is so very much driven by the stories and experiences of all(!) the characters, am I crazy to think that the producers should have insisted that the audience be able to understand most of it?

Or was it just the performance I saw that was so hard for whatever reason?

Thanks

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/11/19 at 12:38pm

It was certainly thick, but I made it through OK. I do watch a lot of UK shows, though, so I think I was primed a bit. Aside from a phrase here or there, I think I made it through pretty well.

[Lot666]

Posted: 1/11/19 at 12:59pm

I have a ticket for June and I'm a bit concerned about this too.

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 1/11/19 at 1:04pm

Agreed - my parents and I all had a hard time picking up on every word, and there were a few lines I didn't get at all. But it didn't really make a difference in our overall enjoyment of the show.

That said, I was interested to know what I missed, so I bought the script. It just came yesterday, so I haven't had a chance to read the whole thing yet, but I'm noticing that there are several lines where it probably wasn't even the accents that were the issue so much as the Irish slang. Even reading it I wasn't 100% sure what they were saying in a couple of places, haha. But I highly recommend gettign the script if you enjoyed the play - I'm already having so many a-ha moments, not even in my understanding of it so much as getting the change to really digest Butterworth's layered writing, something impossible to do in one viewing of the production.

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 1/11/19 at 1:10pm

I can't remember there being anything I didn't understand, either from the words themselves or from immediately obvious context. Don't hesitate to see it.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 1/11/19 at 1:14pm

The play is set in rural Northern Ireland which is a very specific culture. Part of the pull of the play and production is its verisimilitude.  It would have been disingenuous for them to alter the dialect and accents to make it easier for you to understand and the production would have been less effective for it.

 

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/11/19 at 2:30pm

JudyDenmark said: "I'm already having so many a-ha moments, not even in my understanding of it so much as getting the change to really digest Butterworth's layered writing, something impossible to do in one viewing of the production."

That is the other issue, for sure, it is so dense you really know there are more layers than you're probably getting in one dose.

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 1/11/19 at 3:47pm

Lot666 said: "I have a ticket for June and I'm a bit concerned about this too."

You will have a different cast for this, consisting of I believe mostly Americans, so we'll have to see how this differs. Either way though, I had no issue. If I missed a word or two; I never felt I lost context of the play. If anything, something theatre is so overwhelming for me I get caught up and miss something so that's on me, not the show itself. There is a lot going on in the show however. I'd love to see it again someday 

[schubox]

Posted: 1/11/19 at 3:52pm

I didnt have an issue. Like a previous poster said, I watch a lot of British tv/movies so maybe that helps? It took a bit getting used to, but halfway through the first act I was pretty dialed in. Given the setting and plot of the show, it would feel weird for them to speak any differently

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 1/11/19 at 5:15pm

Mike Barrett said: "If I missed a word or two; I never felt I lost context of the play."

This is the important part. It's not a hard play to follow in terms of the plot, you'll just likely miss some nuance if you don't catch every word.