The Ballad of Johnny and June Festival Theatre Edinburgh 28th April 2026 Review
The Ballad of Johnny and June is at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh this week (Tue 28 Apr - Sat 2 May) and it is the story about the not always smooth running love affair of two of country music's biggest and brightest stars - Johnny Cash and June Carter.
For anyone who has an interest in the life story of either Johnny or June, there is probably not that much (if anything) new here that has not been covered either in books, documentaries, or the 2005 film, "Walk The Line" which was released shortly after the death of Johnny Cash on September 12th 2003. June Carter Cash had also died only four months earlier on May 15th 2003.
Is there then room for yet another Johnny Cash and June Carter life story? The answer to that is probably always going to be a yes as this is the story of not only two famous people, but also two people who simply defined country music as the world came to know it.
This stage show has all the ingredients required to become a huge success, a great story and classic songs and with the only son of Johnny and June, John Carter Cash involved in this show as executive producer and story consultant you can be assured that he was always going to be both very protective of his family legacy and also only want to work with some of the best talents in their respective fields on this show. John Carter Cash has himself a very successful music/music production career to his own credit as well as many projects for television and other visual arts.
Taking the starring roles in this show are two American talents, Christopher Ryan Grant as Johnny Cash and Christina Bianco as June Carter Cash. Both are very good choices for their respective roles and there are more than a few times in this show where Christina Bianco as June Carter steals the spotlight.
What gives this production a nice twist to its narrative is that we are sharing this, at times, very personal trip into the lives of Johnny and June with their now adult son played by Ryan O' Donnell, who has a very laid back and easy going persona to this character who is not afraid to discuss not only his father’s well documented battles with substance abuse, but also how this "family disease" affected himself and others around him.
This show was always going to be about the music too, and with classics including, “I Walk The Line", "A Boy Named Sue", "Sunday Morning Coming Down, and "Ring of Fire", Johnny Cash music fans are going to get the songs that they have come to love. This show also has a very good live band, one that I could happily just have listened to on their own too.
One very late in his life hit for Johnny Cash was his 2002 recording of the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt". Written by Trent Reznor, "Hurt" was on the 1994 album "Downward Spiral" and released as a promotional single in 1995. Trent Reznor has been quoted as saying that this song "is not his anymore" and its use in this show is poignant.
Review by Tom King (c) 2026
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
For anyone who has an interest in the life story of either Johnny or June, there is probably not that much (if anything) new here that has not been covered either in books, documentaries, or the 2005 film, "Walk The Line" which was released shortly after the death of Johnny Cash on September 12th 2003. June Carter Cash had also died only four months earlier on May 15th 2003.
Is there then room for yet another Johnny Cash and June Carter life story? The answer to that is probably always going to be a yes as this is the story of not only two famous people, but also two people who simply defined country music as the world came to know it.
This stage show has all the ingredients required to become a huge success, a great story and classic songs and with the only son of Johnny and June, John Carter Cash involved in this show as executive producer and story consultant you can be assured that he was always going to be both very protective of his family legacy and also only want to work with some of the best talents in their respective fields on this show. John Carter Cash has himself a very successful music/music production career to his own credit as well as many projects for television and other visual arts.
Taking the starring roles in this show are two American talents, Christopher Ryan Grant as Johnny Cash and Christina Bianco as June Carter Cash. Both are very good choices for their respective roles and there are more than a few times in this show where Christina Bianco as June Carter steals the spotlight.
What gives this production a nice twist to its narrative is that we are sharing this, at times, very personal trip into the lives of Johnny and June with their now adult son played by Ryan O' Donnell, who has a very laid back and easy going persona to this character who is not afraid to discuss not only his father’s well documented battles with substance abuse, but also how this "family disease" affected himself and others around him.
This show was always going to be about the music too, and with classics including, “I Walk The Line", "A Boy Named Sue", "Sunday Morning Coming Down, and "Ring of Fire", Johnny Cash music fans are going to get the songs that they have come to love. This show also has a very good live band, one that I could happily just have listened to on their own too.
One very late in his life hit for Johnny Cash was his 2002 recording of the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt". Written by Trent Reznor, "Hurt" was on the 1994 album "Downward Spiral" and released as a promotional single in 1995. Trent Reznor has been quoted as saying that this song "is not his anymore" and its use in this show is poignant.
Review by Tom King (c) 2026
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com