Some books you only ever want to read once, some films do not stand up to the scrutiny of a second watch, and some plays you will try to forget before you even leave the theatre foyer. I reviewed ‘Standing at the Sky’s Edge’ in its original incarnation at the Crucible Theatre back in March 2019, when I had no hesitation in naming it amongst my top five shows of that year. I’m delighted to say that this revival matches the original production in every way, my love affair with this superb production was rekindled and London audiences are in for an invigorating blast from the north when it transfers to the National Theatre early in 2023.
Retaining eight of the original cast of nineteen, including the core of the lead performers, allows these actors to revisit and more fully explore their character. We still have Rose (Rachel Wooding) and Harry (Robert Lonsdale) arriving on the newly minted Park Hill in 1960, embodying all the post war confidence of that generation; spooling forward to 1989, Joy (Faith Omole) lands on the now decaying estate fleeing civil war in Liberia seeking asylum and sanctuary; finally Poppy (Alex Young) in 2015, leaving London to look for a clean slate after her love affair with Nikki (Maimuna Memon) goes sour. Each of the storylines is played out simultaneously on the stage, actors sharing space but not time, a device which is never once confusing, allowing a flow and organic development of each storyline until they resolve into a satisfying whole, the two and a half hour runtime passing in the blink of an eye. Audiences will choose their own vignettes to treasure, my own being the bitter descent of Harry from brash optimism, through painful divorce to lonely alcoholism (My Little Treasures), Lonsdale’s performance bringing me to tears throughout. Only the story of Poppy and Nikki grated, the ‘Richard Curtis’ conclusion feeling too sentimental and at odds with the spirit of the production. The originals in the cast are supplemented by some excellent new additions, Samuel Jordan as Jimmy and particularly Severine Howell-Meri (Understudy Connie) who acts as narrator across all three strands and embodies the history of the estate through her own experience.
My original review concentrated on the politics of the production, the device of a flat on the Park Hill estate in Sheffield being used to illustrate the rise and fall (and rise again) of the Steel City through the eyes of three separate families between 1960 and 2020. All of these facets are still sharply present, and the writing of Chris Bush is bleakly funny, skewering southern prejudice with a northern sardonicism at every turn. The show was originally conceived as a harsher ‘state of the nation’ polemic, and though the anger still simmers within the writing, the collaboration with Richard Hawley was inspirational. The term ‘jukebox musical’ may sound derogatory, but as Conor McPherson managed with ‘Girl from the North Country’ incorporating the work of Bob Dylan into an engrossing narrative structure, so Bush and Hawley have achieved with ‘Standing at the Sky’s Edge’. Delving deep into the extensive back catalogue of Hawley’s work, Bush has managed to mine songs that both move the story forward whilst evoking mood and time with authenticity. So, from Darragh Cowley’s opening bars (As The Dawn Breaks), we are led gently into the story, the exploration of character and timeline illustrated far more fully by utilising both words and music. By turns, soft and personal (For Your Lover Give Some Time) then riotously angry (There’s a Storm A-Comin’), the combination allows the politics of the show to tenderly persuade rather than stridently confront, something that should stand the production in good stead with the south to London.
Director Robert Hastie again helms the production with authority with the support of a superb creative team reassembled at the Crucible. Ben Stones’s minimalist set perfectly recreates the ‘little boxes to keep the rain out’ that make up the Park Hill Estate, and is dominated by the balconied tower, demonstrating the scale and vision of the original project. Within this structure the eight-piece band are housed, led by John Rutledge they produce the lush string arrangements resonant of Hawley and a heavier guitar rock with equal skill. A further creative standout was the stunning choreography of Lynne Page, with the graceful movement of the characters around the flat throughout, the repetition of movement and action illustrating the beautiful mundanity of life and the passage of time in an original and visually arresting way.
My original summary back in 2019 ‘a stunning love letter to the steel city’, is still undoubtedly true. I drove back over the Pennines with tears in my eyes, rarely do you see any production that manages to fill you with love, anger, hope and despair at one sitting, ‘Standing at the Sky’s Edge’ is such a show.
Verdict: A defiant musical roar from the North that runs the gamut of emotions, absolutely unmissable theatre.
Playing until 21st January, https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/
Reviewer: Paul Wilcox
Reviewed: 28th December 2022
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★★