Hampstead theatre, London
The songs that unite two grieving sisters are collected and ‘tidied up’ by Cecil Sharp in this historical drama
This beautifully brooding slice of English pastoral places Cecil Sharp, the godfather of folk music who collected thousands of songs from rural communities, alongside two women he met in 1903. They were half-sisters, Louie Hooper and Lucy White, daughters of a renowned singer in south Somerset who, at the start of this drama, has just died, leaving them drenched in grief.
It is clear why Nell Leyshon’s script was adapted into a BBC audio drama last year, starring Simon Russell Beale and Amanda Wilkin. It bursts with sound, from distant birdsong to folk tunes the sisters sing as they sew gloves to make ends meet.