If storytelling is a lost art, Jez Butterworth’s epic play “The Ferryman” is bringing it home.
Hats off to New Village Arts Theatre in Carlsbad and co-founder and executive artistic director and director of “The Ferryman” Kristianne Kurner. It’s hard to believe the theatre is 21 years old and she has been at the helm for most of those 21 years. Now on this twenty -first occasion, two important factors are making headlines: a new and refurbished theatre and expanded lobby area for guests to mingle and enjoy refreshments and the rights to Jez Butterworth’s “The Ferryman”.
At a time when so many small/mid- sized theatres are struggling to keep their doors open the new New Village Arts Theatre will be called the Conrad Prebys Theatre in the Dea Hurston New Village Center partially made possible by the generosity of Ms. Hurston and a host of donors to complete this project. And, as they say, ’the shows will go on’. Coming on the heels of the renovation was the ability of Kurner to get the rights to the Butterworth play through a grant from the Conrad Prebys’ Foundation. No easy fete this since it is the first theatre in the world of outside London, and New York to produce it.
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| Antonio TJ Johnson and cast |
The play, grand in scope is set between 1969-1998 in Northern Ireland during what are called Northern Irish ‘Troubles’, including ‘Bloody Sunday’, ‘Hunger Strikes’, and The Disappeared.’ “Several men and one woman were believed to have been abducted, murdered and secretly buried by the IRA.” All of the disappeared /vanished were Irish Catholic” It is at this juncture that the play opens with IRA mob like figures Muldoon, Frank and Lawrence (Max Macke, Kyle Ryan and Jacob James) waiting for the arrival of Father Horrigan (Daren Scott).
It seems that Seamus Carney was one of those who ‘disappeared’. He was Caitlin’s husband, Quinn’s brother and Oisin (Giovanny Diaz DeLeon) father. Friend of the family, Father Horrigan was to tell Quinn and Caitlin that Seamus had been found in a bog with a bullet in the back of his head. He’s been missing ten years. They are to tell no one about the body being just found. Horrigan tells brother Quinn (Thomas Edward Daugherty) and Quinn’s widow Caitlan (Joy Yvonne Jones) that mums the word. The knowledge of secret disappearance is lost in the festive mood of the pending harvest time. But is it?
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| Joy Yvonne Jones and Thomas Edward Daugherty |
So, begins the saga of the Carney family, all twelve past and present and that’s not including the cousins, aunts from another generation: Great Aunt Maggie Faraway (Dagmar Krause Fields), aunt Patricia Carney (Grace Delaney) and Uncle Pat (Antonio TJ Johnson) as told through their eyes and Butterworth’s splendid storytelling.
All in all, Kurner steers her well- rehearsed and awesome cast of about twenty six characters, give or take and that’s if you include the most precious five month Snow Elizabeth White (Mom is Joy Yvonne Jones) as Bobby Carney the youngest of the seven Carney’s to Mary (Kym Pappas) and Quinn. Add to that a live rabbit and a goose that yapped throughout… and… the production lasts three +hours with two intermissions.
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| Dagmar Krause Fields and Carney Girls |
Thinking of it that way, it almost seems overwhelming to comprehend, but strangely enough, it was not for yours truly. The overall production has so much going for it that this reviewer was impressed with the efficiency of the much detailed set with a working kitchen large enough to house a stove, knick- knacks, a sink to wash the many dishes used for meals for the family, a mudroom or back porch and a much needed supply of glasses for the amount of drink they all imbibed. It was in this space designed by Doug Cumming, specialty props by Alyssa Kane, that tables were set and removed for a bit of Irish Dancing (delightful) that Farah Dinga choreographed, a staircase to bedrooms where apparently the entire family slept. Add to that a space under the stairwell for a crib and/or anyone to hide.
Honorable mention to Thomas Edward Dougherty for his portrayal of Quinn leader of the clan who was pretty much in every scene over the course of the three hours, His accent and immersion in the role would be difficult to find fault. Joy Yvonne Johnson as Caitlin, his sister in law plays well off him as the two try to keep their feelings at bay. Dagmar Krause Fields Great Aunt Maggie Faraway (as the name implies) is as perfect when she stares off like a deer in the headlights as when she bursts into periods of lucidness. It’s wonderful to see how the youngsters in the family look after the elders and so far down the line.
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| Douglas McLaughlin and the Goose with cast |
Antonio TJ Johnson is at his best as the titular head Uncle Patrick Carney who mumbles excerpts from Virgil to the Bible with references or speaking to the mythical Ferryman who takes some of the dead across the River Styx. As for the young adults both male and female, each holds his/her own (in a place where it was easy to get lost) and never miss a beat as to their part of the family.
Adding to the authenticity of the overall look Jojo Siu designed the costumes, Annelise Salazar, lighting, Harper Justus, sound and assistant director/ dramaturg, Heather LaForge. Dialect coaches Jude McSpadden, Grace Delaney and Vanessa Dinning did a splendid job, at least to my ears, of honing in on the cast’s accents.
Circling back, there is a whole lot to be admired about this major coup: the new addition of a people friendly lobby, new restrooms and a play most would not be able to see for some time. When this opportunity comes along it shouldn’t be a difficult call to make. Time spent in the theatre is time well spent, even three hours.
When: 2 p.m. Wednesdays; 7:30 p.m. Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. Through March 5
Where: New Village Arts, 2787 State St., Carlsbad
Tickets: $30-$50
Phone: (760) 433-3245
Photo: Daren Scott
Online: newvillagearts.org
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