June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me
It's a genuine honour to finally bring Charlene Boyd's first play as a writer, June Carter Cash: the Woman, Her Music and Me to the Festival this summer. We go back many years, becoming friendly as working mums then as struggling mums through the pandemic. Charlene is one of the most resourceful, brave and hard-working artists I know. When life threw her lemons in the form of a divorce, and 2 children to support in a worldwide pandemic which left actors bereft on a sea of joblessness, Charlene's answer was to turn that into a godman gin and tonic. She told me she needed to create her own work but wanted to make something she felt deeply passionate about. She shared that she had been singing in a Johnny Cash/June Carter tribute band for 15 years, and the answer was kind of obvious.
But this would be no 'Johnny and June' love story. Johnny is a legend yes, but long before June Carter ever met the Man in Black with the deep, dark soul, she was already a seasoned Country legend herself. She was raised through Country Royalty. The Carter family had been touring since she was a girl. The story of June is one of a woman forging her own path in a deeply male dominated domain, of coming up against the harshest of judgement when she strayed form 'that line' and about a working mum trying to manage the juggling act between pushing oneself to the furthest reaches of one's dreams and potential whilst also aiming to be the mother you aim to be.
We are building this show with an extraordinary team of artists: Shone Reppe is designing. She creates world renowned playful, inventive theatre for children. Her skills in object theatre and puppetry very much play into the whole playful, 'found object' aesthetic of this show, embedding it in Shona's quirky, fiercely innovative playful style.
Pippa Murphy is sound designer/composer/MD. I am a huge admirer of her work, having fallen in love with it on Karine Polwarts' exquisite Wind Resistance and the beautiful work of the late and sadly missed Janice Claxton's Pop Up Dance Duets.
The band accompanying Charlene include me ol' mucker Harry Ward whom I've done countless shows with over the years and is a quite disgustingly talented instrumentalist and actor.
Amy Duncan, who I am reuniting with after 25 years! We used to play together in a band when we were both at college back in 94. It was called Swelling Meg and was an Alt-Folk acoustic explosion of influences. We sported matching shaved heads, could often be found in the basement of the old 13th Note, Amy playing stunning double bass whilst I screeched hell out of a cello and battered a beer keg with a broom pole. We supported hard core rock bands and weirdly appealed to the folkies, the rockers, the crusties and everything in between. It's amazing to be working together again.
And what a delight to have the phenomenally talented Ray Saggs on the music team. They are one half of the band Sacred Paws and an extraordinary musician, with a deep knowledge of country music. Ray blows my mind in rehearsals playing everything from fiddle, to guitar, mandolin, squeezebox, cajon, bells on both feet… jeezo. An incredible artist, we are very lucky to have them.
Working on this right now and watching the parallels Charlene is drawing from The Appalachian Mountains to her life here in Glasgow is an absolute joy. I can't wait to bring it to Summerhall this summer.
The show will premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before embarking on its Scottish tour: 2 Aug - 22 Sep. Tickets can be booked at the link below.