HAMPSTEAD DOWNSTAIRS / CELIA ATKIN PRESENT

FOLK

By NELL LEYSHON
Directed by ROXANA SILBERT

Running time: 1 hour and 50 minutes including an interval

I'll tell you one more thing. I got more songs in my head than I ever told you. I got enough to sing for days...

Downstairs

29 Jun - 6 Aug 2022

Box Office: 020 7722 9301

Details

Can’t get tickets? Keep checking back as tickets returned in advance of the performance will be released for resale on the website. On the day of the performance, the Box Office runs a returns queue for any tickets that have not been resold. The queue opens 2 hours before curtain up and tickets will be sold as and when they become available for the performance at full price (no concessions available), first come first served, limited to two tickets per customer. We cannot guarantee that returns will be available.


★★★ 'Leyshon’s poetic way with words, the subtle modulations of Roxana Silbert’s scenically humble production and the superb, lived-in detail of the four actors hold us in thrall. This wonderful play deserves to endure.' The Telegraph
★★★★
'A lyrical, complex celebration of Cecil Sharp' The Times
★★★★ 'Every actor shines in this beautifully brooding tale of song and sisterhood, paced to perfection by Roxana Silbert.' The Guardian
★★★★ 'Sweet music to your ears, with hypnotic performances' Daily Mail
★★★★ 'A charming, informative play, featuring the most tender of voices' Sunday Times
★★★★ 'A beautiful, beguiling play that captures the transcendent and transformative power of music.' Financial Times
★★★★ 'Setting the bar for new writing impressively high with this beauty. Breathtaking writing, flawless staging. Folk deserves to be around for a very long time.' WhatsOnStage
★★★★ ‘Edgily enchanting and beautifully played by all, this is an exquisite gem’ Daily Express


Nominated for a 2022 Olivier Award, Nell Leyshon’s 'charming, touching' (Observer) new play with songs, inspired by a true story, returns to Hampstead Downstairs by public demand. Following its sold out run earlier in the year, the complete original cast return this June.

1903, Somerset. Rooted in the land where she has lived her entire life, Louie Hooper’s mind overflows with its songs – more than 300 of them passed down from her mother. Cecil Sharp, a composer visiting from London, fears England’s folk songs will be lost forever and sets out on a mission to transcribe each and every one. He believes Louie’s music should speak not just for this place but for the whole of England.

Brought up in a neighbouring village to Louie’s in Somerset, Nell Leyshon’s theatre credits include Comfort Me With Apples (nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre and winner of the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright) and Glass Eels (both Hampstead), Don’t Look Now (Sheffield / Lyric Hammersmith) and Bedlam (Globe). Folk aired on Radio 3 in May 2021 as part of the BBC’s Lights Up series, which turned the spotlight on plays whose staging had been delayed by the pandemic.

Hampstead’s Artistic Director Roxana Silbert directs her second Downstairs production, following Deborah Bruce’s Raya. Other Hampstead productions include The Haystack, ‘night, Mother and The Fever Syndrome, now playing on the Main Stage.

The cast features Ben Allen (Measure for Measure, Donmar), Sasha Frost (The Lightning Child, Shakespeare's Globe), Mariam Haque (Behind the Beautiful Forevers, National Theatre) and Simon Robson (The Schumann Plan, Hampstead Theatre).

Folk is a T.S. Eliot Foundation commission.


Our promise to you

In the event of Folk being postponed, you can choose between a full refund or credit to be used for any show at Hampstead.

Hampstead Theatre is delighted to open Folk following Government advice. As always, our audience, company and staff are our top priority. For more information about how we’re keeping you safe, please click here.


An Audio Accompaniment is available for this production. This is a pre-recorded introduction describing the set, characters and costumes and includes an interview with the full cast. Click here to listen to Folk Audio Accompaniment

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Reviews
  • The Telegraph

    'In a cracking start to the theatregoing year, Hampstead’s studio space offers a spellbinding account of Cecil Sharp at the start of his invaluable quest to preserve English folk songs but handling them and their rustic, often female repositories with a mixture of reverence and calculation.'

    'Leyshon’s poetic way with words, the subtle modulations of Roxana Silbert’s scenically humble production and the superb, lived-in detail of the four actors hold us in thrall.'

    'Like the folk songs it so delights in, the play deserves to endure. Still, you never know, best catch it while you can.'

    To read the full review visit The Telegraph online here.

    Folk, review: 'this wonderful play deserves to endure'
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  • The Times

    'Cecil Sharp, the subject of Nell Leyshon’s lyrical play, has a grand building named after him not far from the Hampstead Theatre. The mansion is the home of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, but Sharp’s legacy is also celebrated in tiny clubs across the country where the ditties he collected on field trips more than a century ago are now the common currency.

    Roxana Silbert’s intimate production, laced with sedate dance interludes, illuminates the character of a pioneer who still arouses controversy today. Was Sharp merely a selfless champion of a fast-disappearing rural culture? Leyshon never passes judgment, and Simon Robson gives us a nuanced portrait of a man on a near-mystical quest to explore the roots of a country so often dismissed as a “land without music”.'

    To read the full review visit The Times online here.

    Folk review — a lyrical, complex celebration of Cecil Sharp
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  • WhatsOnStage

    'We're not even a full week into 2022 and already Hampstead is setting the bar for new writing impressively high with this little beauty. Author Nell Leyshon has form with creating quietly riveting rural dramas (her Glass Eels and Comfort Me With Apples both premiered at this address, the latter garnering her the Evening Standard award for Most Promising Playwright of 2005) but Folk is likely to prove a significant career highlight, both for her and several of her collaborators here.'

    'A stupendous performance from Mariam Haque'

    'Sasha Frost, absolutely wonderful'

    'Silbert's fleet, flawless staging features strong work from Ben Allen as a local lad who comes between the sisters, and Simon Robson captures the intriguing ambiguities of Sharp, his admiration for Louie ultimately eclipsed by his determination to make his own name on the back of her, and her ilk's, legacy. Gary Yershon's musical contribution is invaluable.'

    'Profoundly moving and satisfying. It's also about how music and words can seep into your soul, as does this exquisite new play. Like the music that inspired it, Folk deserves to be around for a very long time.'

    To read the full review visit WhatsOnStage online here.

    Folk at Hampstead Theatre – review
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Cast

Artistic team

WRITER

NELL LEYSHON

DIRECTOR

ROXANA SILBERT

DESIGNER

ROSE REVITT

LIGHTING

MATT HASKINS

DIRECTOR OF MUSIC

GARY YERSHON

SOUND

TINGYING DONG

MOVEMENT DIRECTOR

AYSE TASHKIRAN

ASSOCIATE SOUND DESIGNER

ANNA SHORT

Cast

News

HAMPSTEAD THEATRE ANNOUNCES THE RETURN OF ITS OLIVIER-NOMINATED HIT PRODUCTION FOLK, RUNNING FROM 24 JUNE UNTIL 30 JULY

Posted on 24 March 2022

Following its sold-out run earlier in the year and recent Olivier nomination, Hampstead Theatre is delighted to announce the return of Folk, Nell Leyshon’s beautiful new play with songs, directed by Hampstead’s Artistic Director, Roxana Silbert.

FOLK NOMINATED FOR OLIVIER AWARD FOR Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre

Posted on 9 March 2022

Nell Leyshon's beautiful new play with songs Folk, which finished its sold-out run at Hampstead Downstairs last month, has been nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre at the 2022 Olivier Awards.

Tickets

First five performances: All tickets £5
Performances thereafter: £35
Seniors*: £25 (matinee only)
Under 30s and Students: £15
Access: £16

*Ages 60+

Video and Image Gallery

SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) Photo by Chiara Wakely SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE)Photo by Chiara Wakely
BEN ALLEN (JOHN) & SASHA FROST (LUCY) Photo by Chiara Wakely BEN ALLEN (JOHN) & SASHA FROST (LUCY)Photo by Chiara Wakely
ROXANA SILBERT (DIRECTOR) & NELL LEYSHON (WRITER) Photo by Chiara Wakely ROXANA SILBERT (DIRECTOR) & NELL LEYSHON (WRITER)Photo by Chiara Wakely
SASHA FROST (LUCY) Photo by Chiara Wakely SASHA FROST (LUCY)Photo by Chiara Wakely
ROXANA SILBERT (DIRECTOR) Photo by Chiara Wakely ROXANA SILBERT (DIRECTOR)Photo by Chiara Wakely
MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) Photo by Chiara Wakely MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE)Photo by Chiara Wakely
GARY YERSHON (DIRECTOR OF MUSIC) Photo by Chiara Wakely GARY YERSHON (DIRECTOR OF MUSIC)Photo by Chiara Wakely
SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) Photo by Chiara Wakely SIMON ROBSON (SHARP)Photo by Chiara Wakely
BEN ALLEN (JOHN) Photo by Chiara Wakely BEN ALLEN (JOHN)Photo by Chiara Wakely
SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) & NELL LEYSHON (WRITER) Photo by Chiara Wakely SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) & NELL LEYSHON (WRITER)Photo by Chiara Wakely
MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) & GARY YERSHON (DIRECTOR OF MUSIC) Photo by Chiara Wakely MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) & GARY YERSHON (DIRECTOR OF MUSIC)Photo by Chiara Wakely
BEN ALLEN (JOHN) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) Photo by Chiara Wakely BEN ALLEN (JOHN) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE)Photo by Chiara Wakely
MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) & SASHA FROST (LUCY) Photo by Chiara Wakely MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) & SASHA FROST (LUCY)Photo by Chiara Wakely
BEN ALLEN (JOHN) & SASHA FROST (LUCY) Photo by Chiara Wakely BEN ALLEN (JOHN) & SASHA FROST (LUCY)Photo by Chiara Wakely
MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) Photo by Robert Day MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE)Photo by Robert Day
SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) Photo by Robert Day SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE)Photo by Robert Day
SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) Photo by Robert Day SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE)Photo by Robert Day
MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) & SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) Photo by Robert Day MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) & SIMON ROBSON (SHARP)Photo by Robert Day
MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) & SASHA FROST (LUCY) Photo by Robert Day MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) & SASHA FROST (LUCY)Photo by Robert Day
BEN ALLEN (JOHN) Photo by Robert Day BEN ALLEN (JOHN) Photo by Robert Day
MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) & SASHA FROST (LUCY) Photo by Robert Day MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) & SASHA FROST (LUCY)Photo by Robert Day
SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) Photo by Robert Day SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE)Photo by Robert Day
SASHA FROST (LUCY) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) Photo by Robert Day SASHA FROST (LUCY) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE)Photo by Robert Day
SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) Photo by Robert Day SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) Photo by Robert Day
MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) & SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) Photo by Robert Day MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) & SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) Photo by Robert Day
BEN ALLEN (JOHN) Photo by Robert Day BEN ALLEN (JOHN) Photo by Robert Day
MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE), SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) & BEN ALLEN (JOHN) Photo by Robert Day MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE), SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) & BEN ALLEN (JOHN) Photo by Robert Day
SASHA FROST (LUCY) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) Photo by Robert Day SASHA FROST (LUCY) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE)Photo by Robert Day
SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE) Photo by Robert Day SIMON ROBSON (SHARP) & MARIAM HAQUE (LOUIE)Photo by Robert Day

KEEPING YOU SAFE AT HAMPSTEAD

1 Social Distanced 1

RESPECT PERSONAL SPACE

2 MASKS REQUIRED 1

FACE MASKS ENCOURAGED

4 STATE OF THE ART VENTILATION 1

STATE OF THE ART VENTILATION

5 ENHANCED CLEANING 1

ENHANCED CLEANING

7 CONTACTLESS TICKETS 1

CONTACTLESS TICKETS

8 HAND SANITIZING STATIONS 2

HAND SANITISING STATIONS

9 CASHLESS PAYMENT 1

CASHLESS PAYMENT