El Barquer (The Ferryman) at Teatre Lliure, Barcelona Review
Written by Laura for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
1981, Northern Ireland. As IRA prisoners protest with hunger strikes against Margaret Thatcher’s government, the Carney family prepare for the harvest, but violence will inevitably come knocking on their door, as Seamus Carney is found dead after disappearing ten years prior.
Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman debuted on the West End in 2017, and later moved to Broadway. Now, it lands in Barcelona, Catalonia, a place not unfamiliar with civil unrest due to conflicts about the land and belonging.
The set by Lluc Castells is, as usual with Teatre Lliure, absolutely gorgeous. The house, in the center, feels lived in and homey, with chipped paint and drawings on the walls. Outside, there’s nothing but soil and puddles. No walls are separating the house and the land, almost as if they are the same, but the contrast between them is stark. At the top, there is a screen displaying the sky.
What impressed me most about the play is that there are nineteen actors, from eight years old to almost eighty. Everyone delivered incredible performances, and I especially loved the more chaotic moments that made them truly feel like a family. Every character has their own importance and their moment to shine, and they are integral to the story. At first, I thought I would get confused or not remember them properly, but they are so different from one another that it’s basically impossible. If I were to start highlighting every performance that impressed me, I’m afraid we might be here for a while, so I will just say that I’m incredibly enthralled by everyone, even the little ones!
Another aspect I particularly loved is how, as the show goes on, you start learning more about the family and their secrets. In a way, it reminded me of Uncle Vanya in the sense that something very mundane is happening, while many emotions are brewing under the surface, until they finally blow up and you start to understand the character’s motivations and actions. Seamus Carney, unburied for ten years, is stuck on the riverbank of the River Styx, unable to be carried by the Ferryman until his cadaver is buried. Most of the characters are frozen in time in a similar fashion, unable to move on. Others seem to be moving too quickly, getting involved in dangerous games that might get them hurt, repeating the pattern set by the previous generation.
The show is in Catalan, subtitled in Spanish and English. I found that the subtitles were not literal translations, but rather shortened versions that conveyed the message, though not quite the tone of the show, the repetitions and hesitations that make speech more human. I think perhaps the subtitle screens are too small to fit all the text, but there was a huge screen inside the stage, visible for most of the show, that they could have used for this purpose. That would have integrated the subtitles more seamlessly as the screens were on both sides of the stage, and you had to look away from the action to read them. I’m also slightly disappointed that there are no subtitles in Catalan; it could have been a great accessible feature, and very easy to add. Alternatively, I would have loved for the songs in Irish to be subtitled as well. There were quite a few of them and a lot of time was dedicated to each of them, so it would have been nice to know what they were about!
The play lasts for over three hours, with two entreactes, however it never dragged or felt boring as the tension kept quietly but surely building after each act.
El barquer will not leave anyone indifferent, as evidenced by the standing ovation it received. From the staging to the extraordinary ensemble to the themes explored throughout, the play will certainly stay with you for a while. As I was leaving, I could hear conversations all around me as people were still discussing their favourite moments and the characters’ motivations with a passion I don’t often see.
It will be playing at Teatre Lliure until March 15th, with most of the performances already sold out.
★★★★★
