Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Woody Sez: The Life & Music Of Woody Guthrie
Genre: American Theater, Music, Political, Theatrical Storytelling
Venue: Underbelly @Bristo Square
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Woody Sez is a musical built around the songs and writings of influential American folk musician Woody Guthrie and some of his collaborators. Telling the story of the highs and lows of Guthrie’s life, it is making a return to Edinburgh Fringe, nearly two decades after its debut, at a time when turbulence in the United States is mirroring the division of have/have nots that the political activist experienced in his lifetime.
Review
Woody Guthrie, born in Oklahoma in 1912 and an itinerant much of his life until he died in an institution in New York in 1967, was a writer, artist, composer and performer of American folk. Responsible for some of the most well known songs of that genre, he used his lyrics to highlight great injustices of the times he lived in. To paraphrase Guthrie, folk music is singing about what’s wrong in the hope that it gets put right.
Guthrie came to national prominence through radio performances and the recreation of one such studio session is a delightful opening to the show. David M. Lutken, who devised this musical from original writings by Guthrie, takes the role of Woody and the narrator. Nyssa Grant, Raquel Chavez and David Finch play all the other characters. The cast are all adept at lightly sketching a character with just a quick change of headgear, sometimes not even that. The four of them combined are a great house band, multi-instrumentalists and talented musical theatre vocalists. Seemingly unamplified there is a great clarity to the vocals whether in group harmony or as soloists.. Out of the nearly 40 songs played, 26 are Guthrie originals including the most famous This Land is Your Land, This Train, and Tom Joad. Even if you are not a Guthrie aficionado you will know some of the calls to arms played here.
This is an edited version for the Fringe of a longer show and at times it felt it; the musical performances are the greatest strength of this show but perversely fewer of them might have allowed breathing space for more spoken word narrative from the original. What is highlighted is the dire impact of poverty on both men and women, as well as the fact that there were female activists, song writers and union leaders. We don’t just get mothers, wives and daughters.
The highs, lows and anger of Guthrie’s life are echoed in the variation of tempo and mood of the band. In just over an hour this is necessarily a canter through a full but short life. It does do justice to Guthrie the abandoned child and complicated man, his complex web of relationships (although only two of his three wives feature here), fatherhood to many children and friendships with a wide range of musicians but sometimes feels a bit rushed. In between the lively folk tunes there are quieter moments which explore the impact of farming poverty on one family that Guthrie travels with or the great sadness of the loss of one his children, after a delightful rendition of a children’s song. A little more spontaneous interaction with the audience would be welcome, to mimic the atmosphere of Guthrie’s actual gigs.
What is powerfully evoked is Guthrie’s indignation of the poor treatment of his fellow citizens and migrant workers and it is hard not to reflect on today’s USA with the understandable anger of disenfranchised sections of society there. Woody Sez is political theatre and it reminds us that the fight for equality and justice has still not been won. Guthrie’s music and forthright writing is needed today as much as ever.
