Standing on the Sky’s Edge brings one other sprint of its Henderson’s Relish-flavoured musical theatre brilliance to the Gillian Lynne Theatre
“There’s a coronary heart that’s breaking I feel it’s mine”
Standing on the Sky’s Edge’s path to the West Finish might have taken some time however every step has been measured by appreciable success, from runs in its native Sheffield to the Nationwide Theatre final 12 months, constructing the platform for what’s going to hopefully be a fruitful time on the Gillian Lynne Theatre. Given the setting of the present within the brutalist concrete of Sheffield’s Park Hill property, it’s really the proper theatre for it to switch to, you possibly can’t think about it becoming into any of the older, extra conventional West Finish homes.
Ben Stones’s multi-level set design is a sight to behold from the second you stroll into the theatre. Filling the stage, housing the band over two ranges and stretching up excessive, it supplies the openness wanted for Chris Bush’s e book to play out over its three time-periods. In 1960, a steelworker and his spouse transfer right into a flat; in 1989, Liberian refugees flee civil battle and are housed in that very same flat; in 2015, a heartbroken lady appears for a brand new begin in, you’ve guessed it, the identical flat, albeit newly-redeveloped.
Bush plots out their tales on the similar time, Robert Hastie’s path doing a marvellous job of interweaving the three strands with actual fluidity on the stage, but sustaining a definite readability so we at all times know after we are. The politics and economics of every second is an undoubted backdrop because the property goes by way of rise, decline and gentrification over the a long time, however the deal with the human element is the true winner as we get to witness how these bigger occasions affect particular person lives.
Richard Hawley’s songs type a mighty soundtrack for the storytelling, their actual timelessness that means they slot in no matter the place we’re within the timeline. Organized with a masterful contact by Tom Deering, they add pulsing psychological element whether or not in punchy solos (Rachael Wooding’s ‘After the Rain’, Lauryn Redding’s ‘Open Up Your Door’) or spine-tingling ensemble numbers (the beautiful Act 1 nearer ‘There’s a Storm A-Comin”, the equally rousing Act 2 opener ‘Standing on the Sky’s Edge’).
Echoing the deal with group, Lynne Web page’s choreography creates actual magnificence from the humblest of on a regular basis actions to additional elevate the fabric. And in an organization which mixes returnees with new forged members, there’s no weak hyperlinks. Wooding and Joel Harper-Jackson monitor the devastating affect of business decline, Elizabeth Ayodele’s Pleasure stands because the beating coronary heart of so a lot particularly the place Samuel Jordan’s gorgeously nuanced Jimmy is anxious, and Laura Pitt-Pulford shimmers because the emotionally bruised Poppy, not sure if reconnecting with Redding’s Nikki is the way in which ahead. Tremendous stuff.
Operating time: 2 hours 50 minutes (with interval) Pictures: Brinkhoff/Mögenburg Standing on the Sky’s Edge is reserving on the Gillian Lynne Theatre till third August 2024
