‘The Ferryman’ Broadway Review: Jez Butterworth, Sam Mendes Reckon With The Banshees Of History
9 / 10
To reveal more would be indefensible, as Butterworth, under the impeccable direction of Mendes, with a flawless cast from young to old (including Fra Fee, Niall Wright and Carla Langley as the eldest Carneys), detail-perfect sets and costumes from Rob Howell, takes this play in directions you won't see coming. The Ferryman toys with what it knows we know - an exuberant Irish jig can't help but remind of Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa, until it goes full-out punk. The gentle Of Mice and Men danger of Tom Kettle, the bloody shocks we've seen from the likes of Martin McDonagh - everything gets rearranged, and you just might gasp at the power and poetry that brings The Ferryman to a close even as you know it had to come to this.
