Review: STANDING AT SKY'S EDGE, Gillian Lynne Theatre

Home is where the heart lies. But if the heart lies, then where is home? Through the lens of three households living in Sheffield’s Park Hill housing estate, Chris Bush examines family and politics in modern Britain.

In 1960, newly married couple Harry (Joel Harper-Jackson) and Rose (Rachael Wooding) excitedly move into their new flat, marvelling at the space and the shiny appliances and looking forward to starting their family. Joy (Elizabeth Ayodele) and her cousins arrive from war-town Liberia in 1987 to what is now “four walls and a box” in a crumbling estate. A heartbroken Poppy (Laura Pit-Pulford) flees London in 2015 to take up residence in her newly-refurbished home. 

The musical debuted in Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre in 2019 before being revived there in 2022 and coming south to The National Theatre the following year. Riding a wave of overwhelmingly positive reviews, having bagged the Oliviers' Best New Musical award in 2023 and with a TV show in the works, it now arrives in the West End in its biggest venue yet.

Bush takes her time to put together and pull apart the families in each generation. Despite a near-three hour running time, there is not a whiff of bagginess or languor as we shift back and forth through the decades. Politics are a rumbling undercurrent here with general elections used as milestones and millstones: Margaret Thatcher’s rise to power in 1979 and its deleterious economic effect on Sheffield as well as, to a lesser degree, the dashed aspirations of 1992 weigh heavily on these characters and the city which they look out over every day. 

Bush efficiently works the emotional levers with ample help from Richard Hawley’s back catalogue. His songs don’t necessarily drive the narrative forward but throw up poignant and powerful imagery and commentary complementing a script which never dips to the level of base sentimentality. The light and sound design (from Mark Henderson and Bobby Aitken respectively) bring each musical set piece to blisteringly vivid life. Robert Hastie’s direction earns every laugh and tear. Physically evoked by Ben Stone's multi-level set, his layered approach to storytelling is amplified by a live band and strident singing from the cast.

In still (still!) the only West End theatre named after a non-royal woman, it is fitting that the biggest impact here is made by the actresses. Mezzo-soprano Wooding is the only remaining cast member from the 2019 run and she beautifully portrays Rose’s bittersweet path as she goes from giddy newlywed to wizened widow. Ayodele appeared in The National Theatre’s Small Island, a play which balanced comedy and drama wonderfully, and she does that here as the migrant who finds more than just a new home in Park Hill. Pit-Pulford, for her part, absolutely nails the role of the lonely office worker, still incredibly bitter at and just as incredibly in love with her ex.

One stage feature serves to tie the three storylines together. Above and to one side, an iconic graffito from the estate is writ large in neon: “I LOVE YOU WILL U MARRY ME”. It is a message of hope and passion embodying the kind of boundless optimism the young and romantic possess in metric tonnes. This is not a show for the cynical at heart and those who travel without a hankie may have to make do with an absorbent sleeve. Standing At Sky’s Edge is an epic musical for (and about) the ages. For those who haven’t seen it, prepare to fall in love. And, for those who have already seen it, be it in Sheffield or on the South Bank, prepare to fall in love again.

Standing At Sky’s Edge continues at Gillian Lynne Theatre until 3 August 2024.

Photo credit: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg