Standing at the Sky’s Edge is a bold, beautiful and brilliant new musical – review
Standing at the Sky’s Edge is perhaps one the rarest and most precious commodities – it’s a genuinely excellent new British musical, something to be cherished whenever it appears.
With songs by renowned singer songwriter Richard Hawley and a book by Chris Bush, its story is set in the iconic Park Hill estate which overlooks the city of Sheffield; recently redeveloped and with an entirely different demographic of people moving in, it’s a bold, beautiful and brilliant social commentary focusing on class and gentrification.
Not only is it genuinely very interesting, it’s also surprisingly funny and wonderfully uplifting. It doesn’t just tell one story – we are treated to three separate narratives playing out in parallel, although they all unfurl in the same apartment over several decades.
We’re introduced to the initially-optimistic Rose and Harry, who are among the first residents to move into the new estate in the 1960s and want to set up the new life they’ve been promised; we meet Rose and Jimmy who want to spend the rest of their lives together, which will require overcoming numerous societal barriers; and we also hear the improbably posh Poppy’s story, keen to escape London and her ex Nikki, while clinging on to her Ocado orders and Ottolenghi recipes in unfamiliar new surroundings.
