Photos: Frances McNamee, Rebecca Trehearn and Kirsty Findlay in BALLAD LINES Rehearsals

You can now get a first look inside rehearsals for the London premiere of Ballad Lines, which opens at Southwark Playhouse Elephant from 23 January - 21 March 2026 with press night on Thursday, 29 January 2026. 

Co-created by award-winning Scottish singer-songwriter Finn Anderson, and award-winning director Tania Azevedo, Ballad Lines is a heart-opening new folk musical directed by Azevedo, about the stories we inherit and the choices each generation makes to break, reshape, or carry them forward.

The original score weaves together new songs with centuries-old traditional Scottish, Irish, and Appalachian ballads performed live by an all-female band, breathing new life into music that has echoed through generations. The band is made up of Sally Simpson on violin, Isis Dunthorne on drums, Shonagh Murrayon keys and Madeline Salter on guitar.

Leading the cast is Frances McNamee as Sarah; Rebecca Trehearn as Betty; and Kirsty Findlay, who is reprising her role as Cait from an earlier iteration of the Scottish musical. All three performers also appeared on the Ballad Lines concept album, released in September 2025. Completing the cast is Sydney Sainté as Alix; Ally Kennard as Jamie, Thomas, Ronan and Dance Captain; Yna Tresvalles as Jean; GRACIE Lai as Morna and Ancestor, who covers Betty, Alix, Jamie, Thomas, Ronan, and Shona; and Siân Louise Dowdalls as Shona and Ancestor, who covers Sarah, Cait, Jean, and Morna.

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.

Photo credit: Pamela Raith Photography