The multi-award winning new musical Standing at the Sky’s Edge – winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, UK Theatre Award for Best Musical Production, and the South Bank Sky Arts Award – transfers to the West End following sold-out runs at the National Theatre and Sheffield Theatres.
Hailed as ‘the most exciting new British musical in years’ (WhatsOnStage), Standing at the Sky’s Edge was originally written as a love letter to Sheffield, charting the hopes and dreams of three generations over the course of six tumultuous decades, navigating universal themes of love, loss and survival.
Directed by Sheffield Theatres’ Artistic Director Robert Hastie, with irresistible songs of legendary singer-songwriter Richard Hawley and a beautiful, hilarious and gut-wrenching book by Chris Bush, Standing at the Sky’s Edge reveals the history of modern Britain through the stories of the landmark housing estate – a heartfelt exploration of the power of community and what it is we all call home.
__Assisted performances__
Wednesday 13th March, 2:30pm – Audio Described
Tuesday 26th March, 7:30pm – Captioned
Saturday 13th April, 7:30pm – Audio Described
Thursday 23rd May, 7:30pm – BSL
Saturday 22nd June, 2:30pm – BSL
Saturday 13th July, 2:30pm - Captioned
Although this is a love letter to Sheffield and its community (Henderson’s relish gets a cameo role), Bush articulates the opposing argument too: that your hometown can sometimes be a trap, and you might need to leave to grow. Likewise, she gives us swooning declarations of love, yet has an exasperated Poppy call out the grand-gesture-profferring Nikki’s “Richard Curtis bullshit”.
Moving the show to the West End might conceivably look like a commercially risky step too far, but there’s something about the defiant boldness of that assault on theatreland together with the apt concrete aesthetic of the Gillian Lynne that makes the show seem at home on its own terms.
2024 | West End |
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