Ballad Lines: 'Women of earth, wind and flame, born under changing skies'
A moving story about women’s choice in motherhood, and the migration of folk music, is now playing at the Southwark Playhouse and it's one of the most exciting new pieces of theatre this year.
In an interview with the BBC, co-creator of Ballad Lines, Tania Azevedo, described the creation of the show as 'A combination of my personal interests about female body autonomy, and motherhood, and womanhood, and my collaborator Finn Anderson’s interest in the migration of folk music'. It's safe to say, this piqued my interest. Although it might not seem like the most obvious mix, this gem of a show weaves these two topics together in an undeniably moving narrative, portraying the stories of women throughout time and across oceans.
The story follows Sarah (Frances McNamee) in her New York apartment, cleaning out her stuff in the process of moving in with her partner, Alix (Sydney Sainté). She’s ready to let go of the past and move towards a future of her own making, away from her Appalachian roots. She begrudgingly opens a package sent to her after her Aunt Betty (Rebecca Trehearn) died, and discovers the tapes she recorded, opening her up to a world of history through ballads. We meet her Scottish and Ulster Scots ancestors and, through them, see the migration of music which would eventually end up in Appalachia.
Through Cait (Kirsty Findlay) and Jean’s (Vna Tresvalles) powerful numbers including 'Unexpected Visitor' the musical explores contrasting feelings about pregnancy and motherhood. Plucky Ulster Scot Jean is determined to keep her child conceived out of wedlock and dreaming of sailing across to America while Scottish Cait fears motherhood and her Protestant minister husband (Ally Kennard) prays for them to conceive.
"How dae ye tell a man wi the gold light o god on his shoulders you're holding a bit o his gold inside ye a bit that ye long to rip oot."
As the ballads fill Sarah’s home, we see her unable to shake them, and by the final, powerful numbers, we see her reclaim her ancestral line alongside her queerness:
“I am the story I choose to tell and however it ends I’m gonna tell it well”.
Through a mixture of traditional ballads such as “Handsome Molly” and “Queen Amoung the Heather” and original folk-inspired musical theatre, Finn Anderson crafts a wonderful ode to the history of ballads as well as giving voice to women through time. There were moments I was holding back tears with Frances McNamee and Kirsty Findlay delivering especially powerful vocal performances that were incredibly moving.
It’s clear a lot of care went into the design elements of the show; the set feels very intimate, and you really feel as if you’re in Sarah’s apartment with her. Along with the lighting and props, this has all come together to create a fantastic piece of emerging musical theatre in almost every element.
It’s honestly very hard to find fault with this show – there was only one element that felt missing - Aunt Betty’s own story. She mostly serves a narrative role, having collected the history of these women and their ballads into tapes for Sarah. We see her positive relationship with Sarah as a child and what led to their estrangement, but I’d love to have seen more of Aunt Betty as a young woman and her own relationship with the ballads outside of her relationship with Sarah.
Overall, I think Finn Anderson and Tania Azevedo have created one of the most promising upcoming pieces of musical theatre in London at the moment. It’s been almost ten years in the making, and I really hope it has a life after its run at the Southwark Playhouse. It’s folk music for a contemporary audience - a powerful story about women finding their voice across the ages and keeping folk heritage and tradition alive in the modern day.
Ballad Lines is playing in Southwark Playhouse Elephant until 21st March 2026. You can also find the 2025 studio cast recording on CD and various streaming platforms.
