When I last encountered the musical now known as Ballad Lines—back when it was titled A Mother’s Song at the Macrobert Arts Centre in 2023—I noted that while the production possessed a compelling “sprawling, restless spirit,” it was a show finding its feet. It was an ambitious, dense work attempting to bridge centuries of musical migration and matrilineal trauma; a piece that demanded much of its audience, and perhaps even more of its creators.
Two years later, creators Finn Anderson and Tania Azevedo are preparing to bring the piece to Southwark Playhouse. They come armed with a new title, a concept album that has found a devoted listenership, and a clearer, sharper vision of what this trans-Atlantic saga actually is.
The Gift of Time
“We last presented A Mother’s Song in 2023 at Macrobert Arts Centre, and since then we’ve been developing the piece with the support of Kate Taylor and then Katy Lipson, who have joined us on this development journey,” the duo explains, noting the heavy-hitting producing talent (Aria Entertainment and KT Producing) now backing the show’s evolution.
“From the reception the show had at Macrobert, we knew we wanted to continue growing the story and bring it to a wider audience. We learned so much from that initial production – about the core of the story we wanted to tell, the aesthetic of the show, and where the emotional heart of the piece really lives.”
For Anderson and Azevedo, the intervening years haven’t been a delay, but a necessity. In an industry that typically demands immediate perfection from new works—usually to their detriment—Ballad Lines has been granted the rare luxury of a “long gestational period,” allowing it to grow up alongside its makers.
“It’s a real blessing to have such a long gestational period with a show,” they insist. “What that means is that Ballad Lines has evolved alongside us as artists over the past few years. We’ve become better artists, more confident in our craft, and our taste has evolved — and we think the musical is better for it.”
Crucially, this evolution isn’t just about the work on the page, but the dynamic between the creators themselves. “Finn and I have also grown as collaborators. We’ve become more in sync as a team, and because of the years we’ve spent crafting musicals together, we’ve become better collaborators with each other.”
A Meeting of Minds
This collaborative synergy is hardly surprising given the pedigree both artists bring to the table. Anderson is no stranger to the intersection of folk music and theatre; his loop-pedal musical Islander began its life in the Highlands before conquering the Edinburgh Fringe, transferring to Southwark Playhouse, and eventually securing an Off-Broadway run. His work, including his involvement with the Bogha-frois: Queer Voices in Folk collective, has consistently explored the malleability of tradition.
“What that means is that Ballad Lines has evolved alongside us as artists over the past few years. We’ve become better artists, more confident in our craft, and our taste has evolved — and we think the musical is better for it.”
Azevedo, meanwhile, has carved a niche as a director who marries commercial savvy with a distinct queer sensibility. Her direction of But I’m A Cheerleader at the Turbine Theatre won critical plaudits for its “fizzing energy,” and her tenure as Resident Director on the West End juggernaut & Juliet speaks to her ability to handle large-scale, pop-inflected narratives. Ballad Lines seems to represent the natural synthesis of these two distinct artistic DNAs: the intimate, soil-deep roots of Anderson’s folk world meeting the narrative drive and structural rigour of Azevedo’s directing career.
Two Strands, One Story
The transition from A Mother’s Song to Ballad Lines represents a tightening of this thematic weave. At its simplest, the show follows multiple generations of women and the music they carry from Scotland, through Ireland, to the Appalachian Mountains. It explores how these ‘old songs’ morph as they cross oceans, mirroring the lives of the women who sing them.
The show has always sat at the intersection of Anderson’s musical curiosity and Azevedo’s narrative drive. “From the very beginning, Finn was interested in exploring the migration of folk music from Scotland through Ireland to the Appalachian Mountains, and how that musical journey contributed to the evolution of American music,” they explain.
But the counterweight to this musical history is a fiercely specific thematic interest from Azevedo. “Tania has always been interested in telling stories about female agency and freedom, and a woman’s ability to have a say over her own body, especially in relation to motherhood.”
Sarah and Alix: The Entry Point
To bridge these centuries of migration and maternal struggle, the upcoming iteration at Southwark is placing a renewed, structural emphasis on its contemporary characters, Sarah and Alix. In 2023, the modern framing sometimes felt like a vessel for the historical weight; now, the creators are explicit about its function as the necessary key for the audience.
“In our most recent development period, we’ve been reconnecting much more with our contemporary characters, Sarah and Alix, and with the arc of their relationship,” Azevedo notes. “These characters are the audience’s entry point into the story, and we wanted to get to know them more deeply — to fall in love with them — and to use their relationship, and its central dilemma, to connect all the threads laid out by Sarah’s ancestors.”
By centring this relationship, the piece transitions from an anthology to a character study. “At its core, this is a story about how one marries one’s past with one’s authentic self and learns how to hold both. We’ve loved exploring this tension through a romantic relationship that you can truly root for across the whole musical.”
Reclaiming Queer Authenticity
This pivot towards the “authentic self” signals a move away from historical folk-musical into something more personal and urgent. The creators are candid about the queer identity of the piece, a theme that has sharpened significantly during development.
“At its core, this is a story about how one marries one’s past with one’s authentic self and learns how to hold both.”
“We’ve both also been interested in making a show about queer expression and about reclaiming queer identities in conversation with where we come from,” they say. It is a bold juxtaposition: placing queer authenticity in dialogue with traditional folk structures, spaces that have historically been viewed as rigid or conservative.
“All of these threads still combine to make Ballad Lines, and I think it says a lot about us as creators that these topics were as important to us seven years ago as they are now,” they continue. “It also speaks to our desire to make theatre about authenticity — specifically queer authenticity — and about the kind of aesthetic and theatrical experience we want to create for audiences.”
The Musical Evolution
Musically, the project has also matured. The release of the Ballad Lines concept album enabled the score to stand on its own, solidifying a “musical identity” that might have been harder to pin down amidst the complexities of a full-stage production. It also opened a dialogue with a fanbase before the show even opened in London.
“Through the reactions to the Ballad Lines album, we’ve really felt a connection with a new audience, and we’re so excited to share the piece with them this January in Southwark,” they say.
But the work isn’t finished. “We’ve written four new songs for this iteration, and we’re actually continuing to write music every day. Even this week in rehearsals, we’ve been adding new material.”
Despite the fresh ink on the score, they insist the “heart of the musical has absolutely remained the same.” The goal has simply been to clarify the narrative signal amidst the noise of history. “If anything, we’ve become clearer and more locked into the story we’re burning to tell… With any story that has multiple narrative arcs, you’re always working to ensure those narratives culminate in the most satisfying emotional moments.”
Assembling the Voices
To deliver this sharpened vision, Anderson and Azevedo have assembled a company they describe with genuine fire. They paint a picture of a “collaborative and evolving room,” aided by movement direction from Tinovimbanashe Sibanda and musical leadership from Shonagh Murray.
But it is the cast itself that draws the highest praise. The creators were highly specific in their search, eschewing the standard West End ‘musical theatre’ belt for something rawer and more resonant.
“It’s been such a joy to assemble this company,” they say. “Going into auditions, we were really clear that because this is ultimately a show about music, we were looking for true musical artists — people who use their voices in ways that feel authentic and truthful to them.”
This demand for authenticity will inevitably fall heaviest on the shoulders of the show’s leading women. In Frances McNamee’s Sarah and Sydney Sainté’s Alix, the show finds its contemporary lovers, while Olivier Award winner Rebecca Trehearn and the Olivier-nominated Kirsty Findlay—reprising her role as the 17th-century Cait—anchor the show’s historical lineage. It is these women who must carry the weight of the narrative’s centuries, a task the creators believe they have met with gusto.
“The people we’ve found for these roles are not only stars individually, but the sound they make together as an ensemble is truly inspiring,” they note.
Crucially, these performers are not just executing a score; they are shaping it. “We’re also so privileged that they’re all extraordinary actors — every single one of them makes us want to become better makers and actively contributes to making the piece better every single rehearsal day. We’re in constant awe of this company.”
Theatre as Ritual
This emphasis on specific, truthful vocal quality over polish aligns with how the duo views the function of the show itself. They speak of “theatre as ritual,” a phrase that might set off alarm bells for critics wary of pretension, yet here it feels apt, given the subject matter. Folk music is, by definition, a ritualistic passing of knowledge.
“We spend a lot of time talking about theatre as ritual, and theatre as a space where the soul can be exercised,” they explain, articulating a lofty ambition for the Southwark run. “By creating a story with such a vast emotional landscape, and dealing with timeless and epic subject matter, we wanted to make a piece that could deeply move audiences — something raw, something about being in community, and about coming together to share songs about things that are often intangible and difficult to describe.”
Whether the new contemporary focus and the sharpened queer narrative will fully resolve the structural challenges of the 2023 version remains to be seen. But there is no denying the passion driving the project. It is a show about belonging, about the ghosts we carry in our blood and the songs we carry in our throats.
“For us, this show is not only our baby and a passion project of many years — it’s also a celebration of the power of music to transcend borders and timelines, and the capacity of storytelling to change lives,” they conclude. “We believe this is powerful subject matter for a musical, and we can’t wait for audiences to connect with the story and, through it, connect with their own sense of belonging.”
Featured Image: Finn Anderson & Tania Azevedo – Supplied by Production
Details
Show: Ballad Lines
Venue: Southwark Playhouse Elephant
Dates: 23 Jan – 21 Mar 2026
Running Time: 2 hours 20 minutes including interval
Age Guidance: 14+
Admission: From £25 Standard | From £20 Concessions | Previews £16 | Pioneers’ Preview (23 Jan) £10
Time: 19:00 / Matinees 14:30
Accessibility: Fully Accessible Venue; Captioned Performance: Wednesday 11 March, 19:00
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