Tag Archives: David McKechnie

STANDING AT THE SKY’S EDGE

★★★★★

Gillian Lynne Theatre

STANDING AT THE SKY’S EDGE at the Gillian Lynne Theatre

★★★★★

“it is beautiful, and moving, and has real grit”

Standing at the Sky’s Edge is an unabashed love letter to Sheffield. It follows three generations of residents in Park Hill, the infamous brutalist 1960s former housing estate which dominates the Sheffield skyline. Each story seethes with the unfairness of the treatment of the residents, but the play as a whole is full of joy and hope.

To call it a musical feels inaccurate, it is a play with music. Writer Chris Bush has structured the play around the music of Richard Hawley, perhaps best known as former guitarist for Pulp, and as such sometimes the songs feel incongruous, but often serve to energise and buoy up the mood.

We follow three sets of Park Hill residents, across three timelines. There is Harry (Joel Harper-Jackson) the youngest ever foreman at the steel factory, and his wife Rose, (Rachael Wooding) who move in as thrilled former slum dwellers in 1960. Then in 1989 the same flat sees the arrival of Joy (Elizabeth Ayodele), Grace (Sharlene Hector) and George (Baker Mukasa) who have fled Liberia hoping for a better life. Joy’s doubts about this new home are softened as she forms an incredibly sweet bond with local boy Jimmy (Samuel Jordan). Finally in 2015 Poppy (Laura Pitt-Pulford) has bought the flat, but, having moved up from London by herself, she struggles to find the sense of community she has been hoping for.

As with all multi-generational stories, there will be ones that are more engaging. The London audience responded well to Poppy’s story, chortling at her doubt that Henderson’s Relish would enhance her Ottolenghi dish. Personally, I found Poppy’s story quite painful to watch, especially when her troubled romance is set against such legitimate struggles. However, that is the point. The play doesn’t shy away from questions of privilege, and struggle being relative. Richard Hawley tells that after a preview to only former and current Park Hill residents, a former resident shook the hand of one of the gentrifying new wave, and invited them to the pub. It is a play which bridges divides and fosters empathy.

“Ben Stones’ set is astonishing”

Robert Hastie’s direction intertwines these stories, so they never feel separate and isolated. One scene sees everyone having dinner, passing around the Henderson’s Relish, emphasising the idea at the core of this play – all of these very different people have lived their lives in this one flat.

The cast is enormous, and extremely talented. Particular standouts are Rachael Wooding as practical and pragmatic Rose, Samuel Jordan as Jimmy, both lovesick and revolutionary, and Lauryn Redding as Nikki, Poppy’s bold and bolshy ex-girlfriend.

Ben Stones’ set is astonishing, building an on-stage version of Park Hill, complete with the famous ‘I love you, will u marry me’ graffiti. There is a maze of levels, and the band peek out from within the brutalist jungle. Mark Henderson’s lighting design is vibrant and exciting, especially in the musical numbers. Ben Stones’ costume design is also thoughtfully evoked, especially to show the passing of time in these tangled lives.

There are parts of this production which don’t quite land. For example, an awkwardly poetic narrator, who brings a pomposity to a play which thrives in its earnest realism.

But it is beautiful, and moving, and has real grit, without being impossibly bleak.


STANDING AT THE SKY’S EDGE at the Gillian Lynne Theatre

Reviewed on 28th February 2024

by Auriol Reddaway

Photography by Brinkhoff Moegenburg

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

THE LEHMAN TRILOGY | ★★★★★ | February 2023
THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE | ★★★★★ | July 2022
CINDERELLA | ★★★★★ | August 2021

STANDING AT THE SKY’S EDGE

STANDING AT THE SKY’S EDGE

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Flowers for Mrs Harris

★★★★

Riverside Studios

FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS at the Riverside Studios

★★★★

Flowers for Mrs Harris

“Jenna Russell slips into the title role as though it was tailor made for her, giving a performance that is as strong as it appears unassuming”

It takes its time, but the moment the curtain comes down on Mrs Harris you’ll be purring like the cat who has had more than its fair share of cream. As she stands centre stage with the memory of her late husband, we realise that the gaping hole in her heart has been filled, in the same way that ours are overflowing with warmth, born of the simple acts of kindness, love and selfless compassion. When Paul Gallico’s the novella – “Flowers for Mrs Harris” – was first published in 1958 its dust jacket read; ‘This is, if you like, a fairy tale. But of its enchantment, humour and pathos there can be no doubt… it will be loved for many years to come’.

Similar words would not be out of place in the programme notes for Richard Taylor’s and Rachel Wagstaff’s musical. Set in London during the 1950s, Ada Harris (or ‘Arris as she would say) is a hard-working cleaning lady whose clients range from eligible bachelors and society women to actresses. While cleaning for Lady Dant, Mrs Harris opens a wardrobe to discover an Haute Couture Dior dress. Enamoured and overwhelmed, she decides then and there that she will have one of her own. After a modest Football Pools win and two-and-a-half years of scrimping, her desire is achievable.

But this is never really about the dress. It is all about the human spirit. Ada Harris’ journey to Paris and back is not a material voyage, nor even a pilgrimage. It is a personal quest – of triumph over adversity and the discovery of qualities we all seek and do in fact possess if we look hard enough. This is very much brought out in Bronagh Lagan’s tender revival of the musical. Jenna Russell slips into the title role as though it was tailor made for her, giving a performance that is as strong as it appears unassuming. Old school charm is the name of the game here. Russell’s performance is a delicacy whose rich flavours linger long after curtain call.

“a sumptuous production, with Richard Taylor’s lush score eking out every emotion”

It is a quality that is shared by the whole company. While Russell is the main thread, the ensemble double up as characters from Ada Harris’ London life and also their French counterparts in Paris. There is almost a ‘Wizard of Oz’ aspect to this parallel world where the characters are distinct yet recognisable. Hal Fowler is magnificent as the reassuring ghost of Ada’s late husband, later appearing as the widowed French Marquis who finds common ground with Ada’s yearning humour. Charlotte Kennedy is truly watchable as the London based aspiring actress and the disillusioned Parisian model. It seems unfair not to be able to list them all, but mention must go to Nathanael Campbell as Bob the lovesick, shy accountant whose character is mirrored in Paris by André who finds love courtesy of Ada’s spirited intervention. Annie Wensak gives a colourfully nuanced performance as Ada’s best friend, fellow char lady and next-door neighbour Violet.

Kelly Price is the deliciously haughty yet compassionate Lady Dant, whose dress sparks off the whole story. As Madame Colbert, the troubled manager at the House of Dior, her performance is as polished as the House of Dior itself. Initially snubbing the unwelcome Ada, she and other Parisian personalities swiftly come under the spell of Ada and her magic wand. If anything, though, it is too quick and easy and the transformation of the staff at the fashion house a little hurried, which stands out in an otherwise slow-burning narrative. But it is a sumptuous production, with Richard Taylor’s lush score eking out every emotion. Seamlessly weaving in and out of the dialogue it is the essential flow that keeps the characters’ hearts beating.

Yes, this is ‘if you like, a fairy tale’. And we are in no doubt about its enchantment. A touch sentimental and safe maybe, but the warmest and most comforting antidote you could find for the oncoming autumnal evenings. Oh, and a hidden star of the show that can’t be avoided: Sara Perks’ costumes would walk proud on any Parisian catwalk*.

 

*The Dior gowns in the show were kindly loaned by Lez Brotherston from the original production

 

FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS at the Riverside Studios

Reviewed on 5th October 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Pamela Raith


 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

 

Run to the Nuns – The Musical | ★★★★ | July 2023
The Sun Will Rise | ★★★ | July 2023
Tarantino Live: Fox Force Five & The Tyranny Of Evil Men | ★★★★★ | June 2023
Killing The Cat | ★★ | March 2023
Cirque Berserk! | ★★★★★ | February 2023
David Copperfield | ★★★ | February 2023
A Level Playing Field | ★★★★ | February 2022
The Devil’s in the Chair | ★★★★ | February 2022

Flowers for Mrs Harris

Flowers for Mrs Harris

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