A captivating love story to Sheffield that is well deserving of the award: Best New Musical
The critically acclaimed new musical, Standing at the Sky’s Edge, has garnered numerous awards including the prestigious Olivier Award for Best New Musical, the UK Theatre Award for Best Musical Production, and the South Bank Sky Arts Award. After sold-out runs at the National Theatre and Sheffield Theatres, the production has now transferred to the West End.
Standing at the Sky’s Edge can be best described as a tribute to Sheffield, chronicling the aspirations and struggles of three generations spanning six tumultuous decades, exploring timeless themes of love, grief, and resilience, based in the iconic brutalist Park Hill flats.
Under the direction of Sheffield Theatres’ Artistic Director, Robert Hastie, and featuring music by renowned singer-songwriter Richard Hawley, alongside a poignant and humorous script by Chris Bush, Standing at the Sky’s Edge offers a poignant reflection on modern British history through the lens of this landmark housing estate. It is a heartfelt celebration of community and fully explores the essence of home.
Standing at the Sky’s Edge feels like a strong new entry to the musical library of the West End – combining ballads, indie rock and various other genres into a pleasing soundtrack. It sadly doesn’t have one standout song that I was left singing on repeat by myself, but that didn’t detract from the lasting effect of the stories I witnessed – the combination of heartwarming fuzziness and gutwrenching grief that comes from watching almost 3hrs of romance playing out from meet-cute to parting moments.
With an impressive set fully embodying the brutalist architecture, placing the band on various floors for full immersion and a LED-lit floorplan footprint on the stage the audience was immediately transported to Sheffield. The set and various directorial decisions worked beautifully together to portray the various decades we were in and also bring to life the tensions the story demonstrated – mainly regarding the political climate.
However it was the cast and the direction that truly brought the magic to this production. A strong ensemble with impressive vocals brought the Book to life with energy that kept the pacing quick and engaging throughout. Choreography occasionally felt mismatched with the timelines we were in and my companion remarked it was sometimes jarring and distracting – there were a lot of instances where it was impossible to know where to look (so much was happening). However apart from this slight criticism the direction was otherwise stellar. The cast embodied their characters well and on-stage chemistry was believable. Hastie’s brought to life three different families who charmed and entertained the audience throughout, leaving us thoroughly invested in each of their story endings.
Laura Pitt-Pulford (Poppy) and Lauryn Redding (Nikki) deserve a special mention, I found myself most interested in their story – it was peppered with humour bringing a levity to the production that was often needed. Equally Redding’s vocals were unmatched and received well deserved applause at the end of her first solo – it felt we were at a sold out gig rather than a theatre show through this particular rendition. Rachael Wooding (Rose) was another standout performance with a strong onstage presence that had me cheering her on throughout the show.
Although Standing at the Sky’s Edge might not have that catchy tune that you’re singing when you’re leaving, it delivers far more through its impressive characterisation, wide array of enjoyable songs, talented cast and entertaining and captivating trio of stories. One to catch whilst you can, it is well deserving of its ‘Best New Musical’ award.
At the Gillian Lynne theatre until 3rd August – https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/standing-at-the-skys-edge/