Ballad Lines at Southwark Playhouse

Folk music might just be the most important music genre in humanity; it weaves across countless generations and continents, singing stories from long ago and continues to tell the tales of today. Its sustained popularity has seen musicals such as Hadestown and Once become roaring successes, and a new production in the form of Ballad Lines could well be another in the making.

Co-created by acclaimed Scottish composer Finn Anderson and director Tania Azevedo, this musical (originally titled A Mother’s Song) predominantly combines Scottish, Irish and Appalachian influences with contemporary flourishes in its music, as our lead character Sarah – who’s just moved into a New York apartment with her partner Alix – finds herself diving into a box left by her recently-passed Aunt Betty and thus, into the lives of her ancestors. Uncovering more about Cait, a priest’s wife in 17^th-century Scotland, and spirited Ulster teenager Jean in the 18^th century, she realises that her family history, which she once dismissed as a queer woman, has helped build her into who she’s meant to be.

In Frances McNamee’s leading turn as Sarah, as well as Kirsty Findlay’s hypnotic presence as Cait and Yna Tresvalles’s wildly captivating Jean, their characters carry so much in the endlessly complicated journey of being a woman and the various journeys to motherhood across generations, and are acted phenomenally. Rebecca Trehearn commands the stage as Betty, for the most part standing in as the narrator; however, it’s only in the second half that she becomes a fully-fleshed out character and packs an emotional punch – the plot arguably could have benefited more from Betty the aunt rather than Betty the narrator. As for Alix, it may not be her bloodline featured in the plot, but the impact of it on her as Sarah’s partner, as well as little mentions of her own character’s history, could have been further explored. Sydney Sainté acts out her character’s conflicts so well, yet she deserves more to work with.

Given the show is billed as a folk musical, expectations are high for the music and thankfully are delivered on; traditional numbers such as oft-mentioned The Four Marys and a spellbinding act two opener Queen Among the Heather blend well with new songs like Chosen Family and the arresting Prologue. There are perhaps one or two ballads towards the end which could be removed or reworked to pick up the pace, but on the whole, Anderson’s fleshing out of the score is a success and highly enjoyable. Add in fluid choreography devised by Tinovimbanashe Sibanda and Azevedo’s direction across the space, and we have a musical absolutely worth seeing.

After several years of development and fine-tuning, Ballad Lines makes its London debut feeling confident and accomplished, with potential for greatness lying ahead. Go see it while you can, or at the very least, have a listen to the studio cast recording.