Butterworth's most recent play, The Ferryman, opened at the Royal Court Theatre in April 2017. Directed by Sam Mendes, it became the fastest selling play in the Royal Court Theatre's history. Set in Rural Derry in 1981 and focussing on the events surrounding the deaths of the IRA hunger strikers, it received 15 five-star reviews, including all the major UK papers. The Irish Times said "Although Butterworth is English, The Ferryman feels like a thoroughly Irish play, not only because there is not a single false note in the dialogue." The Huffington Post called it "one of the two or three greatest plays of the decade". However, The Guardian 's Sean O'Hagan wrote "I'm from Northern Ireland and it doesn't ring true". Two weeks later The Irish Times printed an article entitled "In defence of The Ferryman" which directly challenged Sean O'Hagan's claims, calling the play "layered and powerful".