By Eva Trieger
CARLSBAD, California — New Village Arts is continuing its groundbreaking mission with the West Coast premiere of Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman. Kristianne Kurner will direct this show for its first foray in the US outside of Broadway, where the show earned the 2019 Tony Award for Best Play. This epic piece of theatre will serve as the debut show for the newly renamed Conrad Prebys Theatre at the Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center. The renovation is finally complete and North Coast audiences are in for a major treat, as they revel in the magic of this cultural hub in downtown Carlsbad.
In a telephone interview with the Founder and Executive Artistic Director, Kurner, I was eager to learn why she wanted to do this particular show now. I was told, “when I first read this play, I thought it would be the highlight of my career to direct this show.” She actually wrote to writer Jez Butterwort in 2019, and asked if the rights were available. “No,” came his response. With the pandemic canceling the national tour in 2021, the director asked again, and this time was told,” Maybe.” After five months of negotiations, Kurner prevailed, and she began putting together this 21-cast-member romantic thriller, all taking place against the backdrop of “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland. The show will feature Tom Daugherty, Joy Yvonne Jones, Kym Pappas, Antonio TJ Johnson, Max Macke, and Lena Palke, to name just a few.
Kurner sees this play as a clarion, warning us that our country is more divided than ever before, and if we act recklessly, what may happen. Each character in the script is fully developed and the show is brilliant on so many levels. As a testament to our local talent all of the actors are from San Diego County, and the inclusivity will be witnessed by the diverse ethnicities of those on stage. Kurner told me this was intentional because “it feeds into the universality by having actors who’ve lived in war-torn countries such as Beirut, or African Americans who’ve faced similar conflicts on domestic soil. It adds a richness and depth.” And, in addition to the actors, there are emotional support geese, a live rabbit, and a baby. As the show does contain some violence and trauma it is not recommended for those under fifteen years of age.
The Ferryman has been performed in London’s West End and on Broadway, garnering the Evening Standard Theatre Award, the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Play, the New York Drama Critic’s Circle, and many other distinctive honors. Kurner believes that in this more intimate setting, the audience will become a part of the Carney family’s trials and triumphs. In this space there’ll be no getting away from it.
To do the show justice,New Village Arts had three dialect coaches to keep the cast authentic. Along with Assistant Director Heather LaForge as dramaturg, a grant from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland will send a speaker from Derry. That will ensure that the cast is schooled in the context, history, and social climate of Northern Ireland.
What does Kristianne Kurner think audiences will leave the theater with? I was told that they will leave shocked and be unable to talk, or they will not be able to stop talking.
The Ferryman will run from January 27-March 5, 2023. Tickets may be purchased online at newvillagearts.org or by phone 760.433.3245.
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Eva Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in the arts. She may be contacted via eva.trieger@sdjewishworld.com