June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me
Written and performed by Charlene Boyd
Directed by Cora Bissett
Dissection Room, Summerhall, Edinburgh
6 August 2024 (World Premier)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Charlene Boyd performed in a Johnny Cash tribute band as June Carter for over 14 years before she decided to write a musical about the country legend. I can see why Charlene was so captivated by June: she wrote and sang with Johnny, hung out with Elvis and performed at the Grand Ole Opry.
When Charlene's performing work slowed during the pandemic she found time to research June's life further and found that they had much in common. Both were working performer mums, divorced and struggling to juggle all of life's demands. Charlene even took a life-changing trip to June's family home in the Appalachian mountains and there, with the help of June's friends and family, she came to the realisation that writing about June was impossible without also writing about herself.
And so the biographical jukebox musical about June instead became a deeply personal and unique play with music about June and Charlene: June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me.
Not only is the concept for this play unique but the staging in the Dissection Room at Summerhall is also something new and exciting. The room is laid out cafe-style with large round tables all facing a small stage that houses the musicians. A large neon 'June' sign is the focal point above the stage and beautiful, ever-changing light bulbs hang from the balcony and sweep across the ceiling. The room is strewn with bits and bobs from both June and Charlene's lives. Like the best kind of glittery, country and western boot sale, I could've spent hours just browsing through the props.
The cabaret style layout of the room allows Charlene to weave among the tables and the audience, pulling the crowd into her story and making us feel oh so involved. Grid Iron Theatre Company specialise in site specific and location theatre and they've excelled themselves here by transforming the already curious space at Summerhall into a colourful, sultry, playground for June and Charlene to roam. It's so much more interesting than a conventional theatre environment and has been designed and with obvious love and great care.
The book is punctuated with humour, the storytelling moves at pace and the short 70 minute run-time flies by. There are some sobering and eye-opening facts about the music industry, and although this production is Not A Musical, music is of course integral to the story. Performed by an excellent trio of musicians and accented by Charlene herself, the soundtrack for this play includes some of the greatest country hits you could hope for: 'Jackson', Dolly Parton's 'My Tennessee Mountain Home' and Cash's classics 'I Walk the Line' and 'Ring of Fire' all have their place in the show.
Only Charlene Boyd could've written this story and it's Charlene herself that makes it so special. Clearly passionate about not just June but all things music, Boyd is a sensation. Switching from June's saccharin-sweet persona back to her Glaswegian reality where her children loudly demand their tea, her day to day life could not be further from the glamour of the Grand Ole Opry stage. With another music legend in the Director's chair, Cora Bissett, together they've created a bright, inventive, inspiring love-letter to resilient women everywhere.
Run to Summerhall to see Charlene and June in their intimate, gig-theatre home this Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🪩 June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me plays at Summerhall as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe until 24th August 2024 and then tours across Scotland.
Jump to Tour listings | Cast info
🪩 June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me is presented by National Theatre of Scotland and Grid Iron Theatre Company. It is part of the Made in Scotland showcase.
📸 production photos: Sally Jubb
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June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me - Cast and Creatives
Written and performed by Charlene Boyd
Directed by Cora Bissett
Music performed by Harry Ward, Ray Aggs and Amy Duncan
Set and Costume Design Shona Reppe
MD, Composer and Sound Designer Pippa Murphy
Lighting Designer Elle Taylor
Movement Director Laura Fisher
June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me 2024 - tour dates
Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue and dates
Dissection Room, Summerhall
from 02 to 24 August, 4:00pm
Performance time: Doors and bar open at 4:00pm, performance begins at 4:20pm
Touring Scotland from Wednesday 28 August to Sunday 22 September 2024
Barn, Banchory (Wed 28 Aug)
Òran Mór, Glasgow (Fri 30 Aug-Sun 1 Sep)
British Legion, Dunfermline - Outwith Festival (Tue 3 Sep)
Cochran Hall, Kirkcudbright - Kirkcudbright Fringe (Thu 5 Sep)
Millenium Centre, Stranraer in association with Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival (Sat 7 Sep)
Brodick Hall, Arran in association with Arran Theatre and Arts Trust (Wed 11 Sep)
The Rockfield Centre, Oban (Fri 13 & Sat 14 Sep)
Ullapool Village Hall in association with the Ceilidh Place (Tue 17 & Wed 18 Sep)
Forres Town Hall, Forres - Findhorn Bay Festival (Sat 21 & Sun 22 Sep)
Made in Scotland Showcase
The 2024 Made in Scotland Showcase supports fourteen shows from Scotland this August during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Artists, performers, creatives, and their communities from across Scotland will have their work presented as part of this year’s Made in Scotland Showcase at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The 2024 programme will welcome fourteen shows from all over the country across a range of dance, music, theatre and interdisciplinary work. With international audiences, industry and media visiting the artists and performers will enjoy a unique opportunity to present their work with the potential of taking it to audiences across the world.
Established in 2009, this essential programme of work has supported 273 shows to date, has nurtured and encouraged international creative dialogue, and has been the catalyst for many exciting international collaborations. The onward touring fund component has supported over 100 productions in visiting over forty countries, providing an unparalleled opportunity to showcase Scottish work around the world.
This year’s showcase reflects the changing landscape of expression across the nation with traditional forms like theatre, which Scotland is known for, to new multidisciplinary works where voices in new forms are finding emerging audiences. Themes explored include international music collaboration, a musical love story, a Wild West dance spectacular, intergenerational ideas of masculinity, deforestation tackled in a miniature opera and life in the community after incarceration.
The selected works will be performed across ten venues throughout Edinburgh, including the Traverse Theatre, Summerhall, Assembly @Dance Base, the Scottish Storytelling Centre, Assembly Roxy. Other spaces include live music venue The Queens Hall and club La Belle Angele. Fringe-specific venues also include ZOO Southside, Assembly George Square and New Town Church.
The Onward Touring fund component has supported over 100 productions in visiting over forty countries, providing an unparalleled opportunity to showcase Scottish work around the world. This level of engagement would not have been possible without ongoing support from the Scottish Government’s Festivals EXPO Fund through Creative Scotland. Through this support, the vibrancy and vitality of Scotland’s cultural landscape will be proudly on display during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August. From established, and award-winning companies, to new work from world class performers, audiences will be captivated by this year’s Made in Scotland programme.
Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture said:
“Scotland has a rich, internationally-renowned cultural heritage, and in bringing some of our best new talent to audiences around the world, the Made in Scotland Showcase highlights how that legacy continues to evolve in new and inspiring ways. The Scottish Government is committed to enhancing the international presence of our culture sector and we’re therefore proud to have supported this year’s showcase with £550,000 funding through our Expo fund, which is designed to help festivals innovate and maximise national and international opportunities for the artists who contribute to them.”
Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said: “The Made in Scotland showcase is a chance for our finest performing talent to be seen internationally and is an incredibly important platform for Scottish artists to have their work performed and promoted. All the works are chosen for the showcase by an international panel of experts and then presented at the Fringe to arts industry professionals from across the globe with a view to future touring and a life beyond the Fringe. Every year I’m amazed by the talent and creativity that make up the Made in Scotland showcase and I am proud that it has become a model of showcasing talent that other countries have recreated.”
For details of the full 2024 Made in Scotland programme visit: www.madeinscotlandshowcase.com
June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me review, National Theatre of Scotland, NTS, Grid Iron Theatre Company, premier, Summerhall, Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024, Charlene Boyd, Cora Bissett.
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🎟️ Disclosure: I am an Edinburgh Festival Fringe accredited media reviewer and as such I receive complimentary press tickets in exchange for my honest reviews. My reviews and star ratings are always my honest opinions.
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