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A beautiful piece of Sheffield steel and social housing brutalism comes to London’s West End via the incredible music of Richard Hawley.Summary
Rating
Excellent
I’m one of those really annoying people who insists they don’t do musicals. But there are exceptions. What I do like are shows that have at their heart social injustice, Blood Brothers being a shining example. I also adore Richard Hawley’s music. He’s an artist I’ve seen live throughout his career, even back in his Longpigs days. So, a musical with a social edge featuring the great man’s music? Ok, maybe I’ll give it another go…
Hawley has regularly talked about his music being a love letter to Sheffield, and his album titles usually nod to the city. The ‘Sky’s Edge’ of this title refers to the area upon which social housing was built in the 1960s. It’s no surprise therefore that the show is very much an extension of that love letter, sealed with a loving kiss and a first class stamp.
It’s actually three stories, set over three different decades, but all in the same flat in the Park Hill housing estate. And all three perfectly encapsulate the rise, fall and rise again of Sheffield itself. 1960 sees the first couple move into the brand new flat, with all the hope and promise that this new life offers. Come 1989 and the estate, like the city, is in serious decline, with people forced to live there through necessity and not choice. And finally in 2015, when gentrification has come to the area, the estate is sold off to developers for just one pound as the council just cannot afford to maintain it any longer. But if you think we’re here to hiss and boo at the Londoner who has forced the locals out of their homes you will be quite surprised!
The trio of stories run together, with Robert Hastie’s direction at times allowing all three occupants of the flat to share the space simultaneously, even with the same dining table for one incredibly crafted scene. And you probably won’t be too surprised either to learn that each of the stories contains little secrets that allow them to overlap one another.
The stage is perfectly in line with a brutalist council estate; concrete pillars, stairways and balconies, the latter of which house the band across two levels. Elsewhere it’s kept simple, the living space outlined on the floor, the stage remaining unchanged throughout the eras, the flat standing strong even through all the changes of the lives inside it.
Writer Chris Bush has delved deep into Hawley’s back catalogue, pulling out songs that help drive the story forward. ‘Midnight Train’ becomes a song about shift working and missing that time with loved ones, whilst ‘Open Up Your Door’ works nicely as a lament for lost love. But it’s left to ‘There’s A Storm A-Coming’ and ‘Standing At The Sky’s Edge’to bring the full ensemble to the stage, injecting real anger and despair as Sheffield’s heart is ripped from it by successive Tory governments.
The obvious rage at how Tory policy left the city to rot away is always present, but never overdone. Instead, its ghost and the influence of Thatcher hang ugly and mostly unspoken in the background. And perhaps that’s the secret in drawing people like myself along, who will still insist they don’t like musicals. Because much like Blood Brothers, this is a story of fighting for one another against a system that feels rigged against you. It may be set in a flat, but as they tell us, a flat is just boxes with a roof to keep you dry: it’s what’s inside that matters. And inside Standing at the Sky’s Edge is a beautiful beating heart filled with Hawley wonder.
Music and Lyrics by: Richard Hawley
Book by: Chris Bush
Directed by: Robert Hastie
Produced by: National Theatre/ Sheffield Theatres
Standing at the Sky’s Edge is playing at the Gillian Lynne Theatre until 3rd August 2024.
Further information and booking can be found here.
