Folk - (Modern Plays) by Nell Leyshon (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Nominated for an Olivier Award 2022

"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..."

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.

Nell Leyshon's Olivier Award-nominated play with songs originally heard on BBC Radio before a sold-out, highly acclaimed run at London's Hampstead Theatre. The production was revived in June 2022 due to popular demand.

Review Quotes

"FIVE STARS! 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." --Daily Telegraph

"FIVE STARS! 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

"A lyrical, complex celebration of Cecil Sharp" --Times

"A beautiful, beguiling play that captures the transcendent and transformative power of music" --Financial Times

"Edgily enchanting and beautifully played by all, this is an exquisite gem" --Daily Express

About the Author

Nell Leyshon is a novelist and playwright, born in Glastonbury and now based in Dorset. She has written a number of plays for BBC Radios 3 and 4. Her stage plays include Comfort Me with Apples, which won the Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright award in 2005 and an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's short story Don't Look Now. In 2010, she became the first female playwright to be commissioned to write for Shakespeare's Globe since 1599.