Pop-Culturalist.com

In Jez Butterworth’s new Broadway play, The Ferryman, there is a multitude of fantastic performances to watch. One of those is from Irish actor Fra Fee.

An experienced stage and screen actor (his work ranges from the film adaptation of Les Misérables to theater productions in the UK such as As You Like It and The Wind in the Willows), he originated his role as Michael Carney in the West End production of The Ferryman. So, we were delighted to chat with him about the project and what the transfer from the West End to Broadway has been like.

PC: Can you talk a little bit about what drew you into the world of theater in the first place?
Fra: Yeah. I was inspired to become an actor and fell in love with the world of theater initially through my dad. He did a lot of amateur dramatics–what you would call it here: community theater–back at home. I come from a part of the country in the middle of Northern Ireland where there isn’t a lot of professional theater, but [where] a lot, as I said, community stuff takes place. I would go to see him in anything that he did, and he also took me and my siblings to The Lyric Theatre in Belfast from a very young age. So, I fell in love with the world quite early on.

I’m the youngest of four siblings. I have three older sisters who would also do bits and bobs growing up. So, I was just surrounded by storytelling from a very young age. [The theater] was something of a magical place for me; it was something that I was subjected to and fell in love with very early on.

PC: How did you prepare for your role as Michael in The Ferryman?
Fra: To be honest, I think so much of the information that you need–both the audience and the actors playing these roles–are in the text. All the questions we had could be answered in the play itself. The play is so rich and so detailed; every character is so fully realized that their entire sense of self appears on the page. There’s an element of research whenever you are dealing with a time in Ireland’s history that is very specific. I watched documentaries about the Hunger Strikes, and I watched a few general documentaries about The Troubles, but, again, that didn’t necessarily inform my take on the character.

I think, actually, I’m very similar to Michael. I grew up in a Catholic household; it was a fairly neutral household in terms of its view politically. I think my family became disillusioned, as did so many families in Northern Ireland, with the violence taking place. As such, they did whatever they could to protect me as a kid from that. I think Michael’s ultimate realization as he understands where these troubles have come from and why they’re taking place, is that he doesn’t see it as a means to the end. That was something I could easily identify with myself.

So, you read and watch as much as you can surrounding the play, but, ultimately, the answers are [in the play]. The characters are so fully realized and [come] to life just by reading it. I don’t think you need to dig much deeper because it’s all there. It’s a matter of trusting what Jez [Jez Butterworth, the playwright] has given us.

PC: The characters are all very rich and come alive, as you mentioned. And, it a large ensemble. So in rehearsal process, was the closeness between everyone something that came out naturally because of the text, or were there things you did as a cast to create it?
Fra: In rehearsal, it became very clear that we were all very fond of each other as people. Some of us had worked with some others before (which tends to happen in an Irish play!). If not that, [then we’ve] certainly seen each others’ work. We became very close very quickly and good mates.

When you do any type of theater or something on screen in which there has to be a sense of history that one has to believe in…we had already had that achieved before coming to New York. We did a lot of talking. Sam allowed us to talk about these people and where they would lie; where this family would lie in the community where the play is set; why they perhaps might be ostracized from the community because [Quinn] left the IRA. There is a history to discuss so we just talked about it. There was a great deal of discussion that would go on after rehearsal ended because we were all so enthralled and wrapped up by this wonderful thing we found ourselves in. So we’d talk about it over a few pints of Guinness after rehearsal and the play finished. It’s similar to how audiences are reacting to the play: they want to discuss it and know what happens next. We were just as fascinated by this amazing family as everyone else is.

PC: Have the audience reactions been different, from the West End to Broadway?
Fra: A little bit. I tend to hear what the audiences on Broadway are getting more than in London. So much of this play is a comedy, particularly the first act. It’s very, very funny. Aunt Maggie’s speeches are funny. Our young lads’ scene has funny lines. There’s a quality of listening that you can actually hear on stage. It’s quite bizarre, but you can actually hear the attentiveness of a Broadway audience more so than you can hear a British audience doing the same thing.

I suspect [that because] perhaps a lot of the political context and history of the play may not have been as well known here, it brings the essential love story to the fore. In England, there’s going to be a natural reaction….English audiences will feel a certain amount of responsibility for this story. It’s quite anti-English; a lot with the rhetoric. So, American audiences are not necessarily responding to that in the same way. They’re just honing in on the important part of the play. This love story; this family that is dealing with grief and cope as best as they can. Those are all very normal universal human things.

PC: Was anything tweaked in the production for American audiences?
Fra: Surprisingly very, very little. I’d have assumed there would be a bit more change, but, off the top of my head, I can think of maybe two to three words that have been changed. There’s no way American audiences could know the name Spar, a popular supermarket in Northern Irleand, so we’ve changed it to “the shop” instead. It’s as simple as that, but pretty much everything else has been maintained. Our accents haven’t been altered in any way to make it easier. It retains an absolute authenticity.

I think it’s important not to underestimate audiences here either. You go to the theater, and you shouldn’t have to have done any homework to see a play. It’s all there for you if you’re listening. That’s what people are doing, and that’s why they’re coming out and loving it.

PC: Since you’ve been playing Michael for a while, is there something you’ve learned from playing him?
Fra: Mmm. That’s a really interesting question. Almost certainly. He’s such an adorable character, and for being very emotionally astute, he doesn’t wear that on his sleeve too much. He’s a joker. He likes to find the fun in situations and create lightness from darker energies. He tries to make people feel good, but ultimately he has absolute integrity, and I think that is something I will take away with me. As much as he does love to have fun and wants to make sure everyone is getting along, he won’t be condescended to. He won’t take any shit essentially.

PC: In your career, you’ve done screen work too. So, looking to the future, is there a project or type of role that you’re looking to do?
Fra: Oh God, yeah. I’ve been working for about ten years now, and I’ve only really scratched the surface in terms of what I want to do. I’m really keen to just be as diverse an actor as possible. I think most actors do want to do that. And, to continue to challenge yourself and discover new tools you possibly didn’t realize you had before.

I’m just looking forward to what this experience can lead on to. By doing such wonderful work and executing such an amazing writer’s work, it’s made me want to do as much of the same as possible. I’m attracted to things that inspire me now.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

Last TV Show You’ve Binge-Watched
Killing Eve

Favorite Film of the Moment
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, last year. Possibly my movie of the year.

Favorite Book from Childhood
I loved The Diary of Anne Frank.

Favorite Play or Musical
Play: Streetcar Named Desire; Musical: Merrily We Roll Along

Favorite Place
Anywhere in the West Coast of Ireland

Place You Most Would Like to Go to
At the moment, I’m really keen to visit Mexico.

If You Weren’t An Actor, You’d Be…
A choral conductor. I did a music degree before acting.

Person You’d Most Like to Meet Someday
Dead or alive?
Whichever! Whatever it means to you when I ask that question.
Well, in that case, I’m going to go for James Dean.

 

Stay up to date with Fra Fee by following him on Twitter and Instagram.
For more information on The Ferryman, click here.