A TRUE story of a celebrated rock musician’s extraordinary journey to discovering his real family.
Discover the unusual journey of self-discovery in The Road to Ballina from 3rd August at the Gilded Balloon.
Jakko Jakszyk, guitarist/singer with King Crimson, was born Michael Curran.
Adopted by Polish and French parents, he grew up wondering who he was, and as one does, eventually went on a voyage of self-discovery.
He traced his mother to remote Arkansas and found his far-right-leaning siblings.
In The Road To Ballina, Jakko unravels the secrets of his past and examines the effect of nature versus nurture.
Directed by Michael Attenborough, it is moving, at times shocking storytelling that merges music and animation in Fringe theatre.
The Road to Ballina started its journey over 25 years ago as an autobiographical music commission for BBC Radio 3.
Since his late teens, Jakko has toured the world and played hundreds of albums from Sam Brown and Mica Paris to experimental David Cunningham.
After deciding to focus primarily on music and acting, in the 1980s while acting in sitcoms and theatre productions Jakko met Michael Attenborough.
Michael Attenborough CBE. D Litt. has been a theatre director for almost 50 years, and is the son of Sir Richard Attenborough.
Among his many titles is one of former Principal Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and now an Honorary Associate Artist there.
A relationship over 45 years forged mutual trust – in each other’s opinion, experience and skill – augmented the tale of Jakko’s complicated family history and his search for his own identity in a theatre production.
