Review: STANDING AT THE SKY’S EDGE, The Gillian Lynne Theatre

Review

Feb 29

Last night we were at the fortress like theatre the Gillian Lynne to watch the much-anticipated press night for Standing at the Sky’s Edge. It soared to success at the national theatre so there has been a real buzz about it coming to the West End.

Set in one flat in the park hill estate, Sheffield, and spanning 60 years, the story follows three families, who lived in the flat at one point through that time. Rose and husband Harry, Harry is the youngest foreman in history with high hopes for the future. Then we meet Joy and her family who had fled Liberia under political tensions and civil war to try and find a new life in England, and finally set in modern day, we meet Poppy; a women who recently endured a bad break up and has escaped the north to try and find a fresh start and herself in this concrete castle.

In modern day, the building has been redeveloped and is now home to a safe community, but throughout the piece we see the stories of the three families intertwine and coexist in the space and what unfolds is a true marvel. The direction from Robert Hastie is nothing short of spectacular. The characters weave through the space, telling their stories so seamlessly that it’s easy to forget that you are watching three stories years apart, genius…just genius, the actors never missed a beat.

The show is a huge feat for story telling, with every single member of the cast contributing to making this show as special as it is. Rachael Wooding was spellbinding and heartbreaking as Rose in equal measure as she battles to keep her family together. Joel Harper Jackson who played her husband Harry executed his journey from bright spark to fading ember with a fine brush, really showcasing his talent, indeed at times it was hard to peel your eyes away as he catapulted from provider to dependent. Elizabeth Ayodele as Joy and Samuel Jordan as Jimmy were perfectly cast as the hopeful lovers, their chemistry was gorgeous and had the whole audience rooting for them to have a happy ending. Laura Pitt-Pulford was strong as the emotionally detached and slightly lost Poppy, bringing real levels to the character. Finally, for a character who appears slightly later in act one, Lauryn Redding leaves more than a lasting impression as the larger than life Nikki, well and truly the comic relief of the piece, but as many laughs as the character was getting, the role was still played with an absolute truth that made her utterly charming. Her performance of ‘Open up your door’ was one of the highlights of the night for us. What a voice!

Props must be given to set and costume designer Ben Stones for creating such a jaw dropping set that is a mammoth presence throughout the show, quite literally bringing a whole community to life on stage, and whilst the set is undoubtedly huge, it never detracts from the beautiful intimate story.

To put it simply we were blown away Besties, from the end of act one (which we could write a while other article about, that’s how much of a moment it is) NO SPOILERS, to the end of the show, we were finding it hard to pick our jaws up from the floor. This show transcended all of our expectations and it makes the future of the British musical look very bright

An incredible achievement in modern musical theatre, It’s a must see… Standing at the Sky’s Edge might just be the British Musical of the decade.

***** Five Stars

Reviewed by James Edge