The Ballad of Johnny and June Archives

Last night I had the privilege of being invited down to the stunning Grand Opera House York to review the latest leg of the UK & Ireland tour of “The Ballad of Johnny & June”, self described as being possibly the greatest love story in all of country music and I have to say I can’t argue with that! The plot follows the famous “man in black” Johnny Cash through his career from young church going boy to world famous country star and the ways his life crosses over with the possibly more famous (at least initially) June Carter. The show is cleverly narrated by their son John Carter Cash and he actually tells us different perspectives of different periods of their life, sometimes from Johnny’s side, sometimes from June’s and even sometimes from somewhere more true in between the two. I ...

There is a problem with telling a story everyone already knows. This story of Johnny and June understands the problem well enough, but the script never really finds an alternative solution. Instead, the music is left to speak for itself. The show opens with Jackson, the quintessential Johnny and June number, a confident, toe tapping start that promises energy and momentum. From there, the narrative is framed largely through the eyes of their son, John Carter Cash, offering a lens that suggests memory, subjectivity, and, crucially, that truth is never singular. When Johnny first meets June at the Ryman Auditorium and declares, with typical bravado, that he will one day marry her, we are reminded that this is only his version of events. It is a useful idea, that truth shifts depending on ...

Tag: The Ballad of Johnny and June

The Ballad of Johnny and June – Grand Opera House York

The Ballad of Johnny and June – Festival Theatre