The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth

The Ferryman

by Jez Butterworth

Directed By David Lester

Performance dates: Monday 26th September to Saturday 1st Oct 2022 at the QMT

Audition dates: 6th June at 10am and 14th & 16th June at 7.45pm

 UPDATED INFORMATION: 

Audition pieces are now highlighted in red in the casting document available via the link on this page. Also, it will not be essential for actors to have mastered the Northern irish accent for the auditions as a voice coach will be working with the cast during rehearsals.

Northern Ireland, 1981. The Carney farmhouse is a hive of activity with preparations for the annual harvest.  A day of hard work on the land and a traditional night of feasting and celebrations lie ahead. But this year they will be interrupted by a visitor.

Much praise has been lavished on Jez Butterworth’s writing, including several ‘Best Play’ awards in the UK and US. The play is about Quinn Carney, a loving father whose life has been haunted by the unexplained disappearance of his brother Seamus, leaving him and his distant wife Mary to take in his brother’s vivacious wife Caitlin who always clung to the possibility Seamus would return. But a body has been found preserved in a bog, and a watchful peace made possible by uncertainly is about to end.

Each character has their moment on stage, but despite the large cast and interwoven plot lines it remains intimate, set in the kitchen  of a single Armagh farmhouse in 1981. It is a play about a mystical idea of Ireland in which fairies and banshees and magic all exist, somewhere. It is a play about youthful idealism and brutal adult pragmatism. It’s also a love story. And like most of Butterworth’s work, it is funny as it builds to a devastating climax.

All are well rounded characters in the play. which stands comparison with Butterworth’s other major hit, Jerusalem. On the following pages are descriptions of all the characters with their acting ages and backgrounds. If you do not know the play it’s well worth  checking out clips of the West End production and in particular, interviews with Jez Butterworth about his play on YouTube.

The Character:

• Quinn Carney – Male, 40’s
• Caitlin Carney – Female, 30’s
• Mary Carney – Female, late 30’s
• Aunt Patricia Carney – Female, Late 70’s
• Uncle Patrick Carney – Male, 70’s
• Aunt Maggie Faraway – Female, Late 70’s-80’s
• Muldoon – Male, 40’s
• Frank Magennis – Male, 20’s
• Tom Kettle – Male, 40’s
• Father Horrigan – Male, 50’s
• James Joseph Carney (JJ) – Male, mid teens
• Michael Carney – Male, mid teens
• Shena Carney – Female, mid teens
• Nunu (Nuala) Carney – Female, 11
• Olson Carney – Male, mid teens
• Shane Corcoran – Male, mid to late teens
• Diarmaid Corcoran – Male, mid to late teens
• Lawrence Malone – Male, 20’s
• Declan Corcoran – Male, early to mid teens
• Honor Carney – Female, 7
• Mercy Carney – Female, 9

For a full character breakdown and audition pieces – Casting – The Ferryman – Audition Pieces

Scripts are available from the theatre or an online scan of the script has been made available via this link

For more information contact : davidlester46@gmail.com

Audition Dates

Rehearsals