Carrie Hope Fletcher to star in new London musical Ballad Lines

The new show by Finn Anderson and Tania Azevedo will run in London next April

Carrie Hope Fletcher is set to start in new musical Ballad Lines, coming to The Other Palace next April. The show is co-created by Scottish songwriter Finn Anderson and director Tania Azavedo, with music and lyrics by Anderson and a book by Anderson and Azavedo, featuring original songs alongside reworked traditional Scottish, Irish and Appalachian ballads. The music in the show will be performed by an all-female band.

Fletcher will star as Sarah, a New York who moves into a new apartment with her girlfriend and receives a mysterious box from her late, estranged aunt. Further casting is still to be announced.

The show was originally commissioned in 2018 by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Northwestern University’s American Music Theatre Project. An earlier version of the musical, then titled A Mother’s Song, had its world premiere at Macrobert Arts Centre in Stirling in 2023. Ballad Lines had its London premiere at the Southward Playhouse Elephant earlier this year. A 17-track concept album, recorded by a guest cast, was released in September 2025. It’s since received more than two million streams.

Ballad Lines will run at The Other Palace for 12 weeks from 11 April to 4 July 2027.

Fletcher said: “I am so excited to be joining the cast of Ballad Lines. I became entranced by the music over social media when it was at the Southwark Playhouse and I remember thinking ‘I want to be in a show like that!’. So getting the opportunity to sing Finn Anderson’s score and tell the story that he and Tania Azevedo have beautifully crafted is really exciting and I just can’t wait to get started!”

Producers Katy Lipson and Kate Taylor said: “Following the incredible reaction we received at Southwark Playhouse, it is a privilege as producers to bring this brilliant new musical back to London. We saw first-hand how audiences found community and strength in the stories and songs of Sarah and her ancestors unlike any new musical we’ve ever produced.

“Taking the show to The Other Palace allows us to expand the cast, story, design and themes of this mighty musical, and we’re delighted for both returning and new audiences to discover Finn Anderson and Tania Azevedo’s rich and evocative work.”

The show features musical direction by Shonagh Murray, choreography by Tinovimbanashe Sibanda, set and costume design by Diego Pitarch and lighting design by Simon Wilkinson. Eliza Beth Stevens is associate director, Titch Gosling is production manager, RJG Productions is general manager, and Jane Deitch is casting director.