The Ballads of Child Migration
All-star cast on UK tour in November 2018.
With award-winning folk artists:
John McCusker, Michael McGoldrick, Boo Hewerdine, O’Hooley & Tidow, Chris While, Julie Matthews, John Doyle, Jez Lowe, Andy Seward and Andy Cutting.*
Narrated by Barbara Dickson
In November 2018, a collective of brilliant and respected musicians and singers are taking to the road to tell the moving story of Britain’s forced child migrants.
The concert, presented as a series of songs, narration, slides, audio and film clips, premiered at last year’s Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, where it was described as “without doubt the most memorable concert of the festival.”
The songs in this concert were recently heard as part of a major BBC Radio 2 dramatisation of Michael Morpurgo’s book Alone on a Wide Wide Sea, which deals with the same subject. The radio drama, including the music, starred Toby Jones and Jason Donovan and reached an estimated audience of 6 million listeners.
Forced child migration is a little known and dark part of the history of Britain. More than 100,000 children from Britain were sent overseas (to places including Australia and Canada) with the promise of finding a better life. Some did find the happy lives they longed for; many others found only hardship, abuse and loneliness.
The Ballads of Child Migration is a tribute to those children, some of whom were sent abroad as recently as 1970.
After each concert there will be a short Q&A session where members of the audience can ask questions of the performers and other experts about child migration.
This tour is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and is produced by 7digital – the digital music and radio services company that also produced the BBC Radio version of Alone on a Wide Wide Sea.
“We have only praise and commendation for The Ballads of Child Migration” - Folk Radio UK
“A poignant and powerful history lesson with an impressive cast” - The Guardian
“[It] brought the Royal Albert Hall to a stunned silence” - BBC Radio 2
“The audience who witnessed it were truly privileged” - Northern Sky
“Exquisitely performed” - The Arts Desk
* The producers reserve the right to change the line up.
