BALLAD LINES
Southwark Playhouse
Director/Co-Creator
About the piece
Three generations. Timeless ballads. One unforgettable story.
Ballad Lines is a heart-opening musical about the stories we inherit — and the choices each generation makes to break, reshape, or carry them forward.
A forgotten melody pulls Sarah, a queer woman in New York, into the lives of the women who came before her: Cait, her 17th-century Scottish ancestor, and Jean, a spirited Irish teenager a century later. Across three centuries, they face the same defining question: what does it mean to become a mother - and at what cost?
Blending Scottish, Irish and Appalachian ballads with a bold contemporary score, Ballad Lines weaves one family’s hopes, sacrifices and songs across generations.
Creative Team
Co-Bookwriter & Director: Tania Azevedo
Co-Bookwriter & Composer/Lyricist: Finn Anderson
Music Director: Shonagh Murray
Choreographer: Tinovimbanashe Sibanda
Set Designer: TK Hay
Lighting Designer: Simon Wilkinson
Sound Designer: Andrew Johnson
Costume Designer: Carly Brownbridge
Casting Director: Jane Deitch
Assistant Director: Eliza Beth Stevens
Costume Supervisor: Molly Fraser
PRODUCERS
Lead Producers: Kate Taylor & Katy Lipson
Co-producers: Wolk Transfer Company, PW Productions, TRW Production, Vibecke Dahle Dellapolla, Scottish Theatre Producers
Cast
Sarah: Frances McNamee
Betty: Rebecca Trehearn
Alix: Sydney Sainté
Cait: Kirsty Findlay
Jean: Yna Tresvalles
Jamie/Thomas/Ronan: Ally Kennard
Shona/Ancestor: Sîan Louise Dowdalls
Morna/Ancestor: Gracie Lai
Reviews
★★★★
The Guardian
“Heartbreaking, full-throated folk music for the ages”
★★★★★
Theatre and Tonic
“Powerful ballads, a phenomenal cast, and a story that is at the heart of our modern society”
★★★★
Broadway World
“One of the most exciting new musicals to hit the stage in some time”
★★★★
WhatsonStage
“Heartwarming, poignant and deeply human”
★★★★★ Beyond The Curtain | ★★★★★ Theatre and Tonic | ★★★★★ Ovation Radio | ★★★★★ Notes from Row H | ★★★★★ The Recs | ★★★★★ Curtain Call Critiques | ★★★★ The Guardian | ★★★★ WhatsOnStage | ★★★★ Broadway World | ★★★★ All That Dazzles | ★★★★ Theatre Weekly | ★★★★ Mickey Jo Theatre | ★★★★ Lou Reviews | ★★★★ A Spy in the Stalls | ★★★★ The Reviews Hub | ★★★★ London Box Office | ★★★★ Gay Times | ★★★★ London Living Large | ★★★★ The Arts Desk