London theatre critics have given widely mixed reviews to the world premiere of Folk, a play with music inspired by a true story, set during 1903 in Somerset, where Louie’s mind overflows with the hundreds of songs passed down from her mother. She meets visiting composer Cecil Sharp, who is out on a mission to transcribe each and every one. The creative team includes Nell Leyshon (book), Roxana Silbert (direction), Rose Revitt (production design), Matt Haskins (lights), Gary Yershon (music direction), Tingying Dong (sound), and Ayse Tashkiran (movement direction). The cast includes Ben Allen (John), Sasha Frost (Lucy), Mariam Haque (Louie), and Simon Robson (Sharp). The show runs at Hempstead Theatre through February 5.
The Arts Desk (Helen Hawkins): This is a studio-space piece with big ambitions. Its title, for a start, has a double resonance: as a term for the ethos of a whole nation, or as a description of its untutored art, often referred to as “naive.” Leyshon puts the two into a standoff. … Sharp is brisk and flowery but kindly, messianic about collecting the nation’s songs. But his mission, Leyshon suggests, is not so much scholarly as a form of cultural imperialism. … All in all, watching Folk is an agreeable experience, but by the end you hanker for more grit, to have seen something wilder and darker, like the tones of Haque’s voice. 3 out of 5 stars.
Evening Standard (Nick Curtis): This stiff production … addresses interesting questions about who owns a nation’s culture with clunking obviousness. … Leyshon fabricates a fuzzy-edged, discursive story around four real people, playing fast and loose with the scanty facts. Which is and always would be fine, if the results were dramatically interesting. … For those not automatically repelled by a play about folk music, there’s pleasure to be had in the ideas behind the script, and the subtler moments from Haque and Frost. … But dear me, this isn’t how London theatre was supposed to start in 2022. This celebration of song strikes a bum note. 2 out of 5 stars.
London Unattached (Joshua Korber Hoffman): This illuminating real-life story of English folk music was both touching and educational. … The script, by Somerset-born Nell Leyshon sensitively captures the moral grey area of folk song “collecting.” … Mariam Haque’s performance as Louie Hooper is stunning. Haque’s voice is perfectly suited to the challenging songs she sings throughout. … For those with a keen interest in folk music, or for those with only the merest understanding, Folk is a treat. … Folk is also a loving portrayal of Somerset and an important reminder of English history rooted in rural life.
WhatsOnStage (Alun Hood): We’re not even a full week into 2022 and already Hampstead is setting the bar for new writing impressively high. … Folk is likely to prove a significant career highlight, both for [Leyshon] and several of her collaborators. … Silbert has similarly struck gold in the casting of this unconventional heroine: Haque is extraordinary, suggesting Hooper’s bruised soul and untutored brilliance. … It’ll be a long time before I forget Haque’s spellbinding second act deconstruction of the folk song Sharp has homogenised for wider consumption. … Like the music that inspired it, Folk deserves to be around for a very long time. 5 out of 5 stars.