Troubles play based on IRA killing wins Tony theatre award in US

A drama set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles has won the prestigious best play gong at the Tony theatre awards in the US.
Playwright Jez Butterworth dedicated the award to all the families who lost loved ones in the TroublesPlaywright Jez Butterworth dedicated the award to all the families who lost loved ones in the Troubles
Playwright Jez Butterworth dedicated the award to all the families who lost loved ones in the Troubles

The Ferryman, written by Jez Butterworth, takes place on a farm in Co Armagh in 1981 against the backdrop of IRA hunger strikes in the Maze prison.

The play centres on a fictional former IRA man Quinn Carney – played by Paddy Considine – whose past comes back into focus when his brother’s body is found 10 years after Quinn’s defection from the IRA.

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The production was inspired by the real life story of one of the Disappeared – Eugene Simons, whose body was found in a bog in Co Louth three years after he was taken from his Castlewellan home by the IRA.

Mr Simons is the maternal uncle of Belfast actress Laura Donnelly who stars in the play written by Butterworth, her partner.

In an interview with the Irish News in 2017, Donnelly said: “Jez asked to come along to Belfast and he went to the funerals [of two of the Disappeared]. From having his own ideas of what a haunting experience it must have been, he sat up late and talked with my mum over the weekend and the idea of the play began to develop.

“My mum was very encouraging about this being spoken about as it’s one of the most traumatic elements for so many people involved in story of the Disappeared.

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“My mum thought it could be very cathartic for the play to be written and she encouraged me to act in it.”

Accepting the award on stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York on Sunday night, Butterworth dedicated it to all the families who had lost loved ones in the Troubles.

The play’s director Sam Mendes – who directed American Beauty in 1999 – also picked up the best direction of a play award, his first directing Tony.

He was not at the ceremony, but a message posted on the play’s Twitter account read: “I have lost count of the times on this job that I’ve counted my lucky stars.

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“And now, again, I’m left to reflect on what a privilege – what an absolute privilege it is – to be able to tell stories for a living.”

The Ferryman also picked up the awards for best scenic design and best costume design.