Check out the latest photos and videos of the new folk musical Ballad Lines at Southwark Playhouse Elephant in London.

Ballad Lines is playing for 8 weeks at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, from 23 January to 21 March 2026.

Starring Frances McNamee, Rebecca Trehearn and Kirsty Findlay, the musical is co-created by award-winning Scottish singer-songwriter Finn Anderson (Islander) and award-winning director Tania Azevedo (& Juliet).

Just in: Take a look at the first production photos of Ballad Lines.

Photos: Ballad Lines

Blending original music with traditional Scottish, Irish and Appalachian ballads, Ballad Lines explores identity, belonging and the ancestral stories that connect generations.

Frances McNamee (Girl from the North Country) plays Sarah, a queer woman in New York drawn back to her folk roots; Olivier Award-winner Rebecca Trehearn (Becoming Nancy, City of Angels) plays Betty; and Kirsty Findlay (Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) reprises her role as Cait from an earlier Scottish version. All three feature on the show’s concept album, released in September.

Video: Ballad Lines in rehearsals

Watch a new music video of rehearsals for Ballad Lines, featuring the ‘Prologue’.

Photos: Ballad Lines in rehearsals

Also, go look behind-the-scenes of rehearsals for Ballad Lines with these new photos.

They are joined by Sydney Sainté (The Great Privation, Or How to Flip Ten Cents into a Dollar) as Alix; Ally Kennard (The Creakers) as Jamie, Thomas, Ronan/Dance Captain; Yna Tresvalles (Six the Musical) as Jean; Gracie Lai (Jersey Boys) as Morna/Ancestor (covers Betty, Alix, Jamie, Thomas, Ronan, Shona); and Siân Louise Dowdalls (Diana: The Musical) as Shona/Ancestor (covers Sarah, Cait, Jean, Morna).

First developed under the title A Mother’s Song, Ballad Lines premiered at Scotland’s Macrobert Arts Centre in 2023. The London creative team includes set designer TK Hay, musical director Shonagh Murray, choreographer Tinovimbanashe Sibanda, costume designer Carly Brownbridge, lighting designer Simon Wilkinson and sound designer Andy Johnson.

Video: ‘Change of Plan’ from Ballad Lines

A 17-track concept album recorded by a guest cast, was released last month. Get a first listen to some of the tracks from the show.

Ballad Lines is produced by Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment and Kate Taylor for KT Producing and co-produced with Wolk Transfer Company and TRW Production. An earlier version of Ballad Lines was produced at Macrobert Arts Centre in 2023 by KT Producing and Macrobert Arts Centre.

Ballad Lines is playing at Southwark Playhouse Elephant in London from 23 January to 21 March 2026.

Book tickets to Ballad Lines at Southwark Playhouse Elephant in London

UPDATES: First published 13 January 2026; Updated on 27 January 2026

Sign-up for booking alerts, offers & news about Ballad Lines and other shows:
Main photo: Ballad Lines - London. Photo by Pamela Raith

Related News

See all

Latest News

See all