★★★★★

“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.

TRUE TALES OF SEX, SUCCESS AND SEX AND THE CITY at the London Palladium

★★★½

“an enjoyable, if slightly twee, evening out with the women in your life”

And just like that, it’s thirty years since Sex and the City first appeared as Candace Bushnell’s original New York Observer column. In the intervening years there have been books, TV series and films all exploring the lives of single, professional, and sexually adventurous women in New York City. Bushnell has revealed she sold the screen rights to Sex and the City for $100,000 in the 90s and doesn’t receive royalties, so despite the show’s incredible success – she doesn’t see a penny. Instead, she has focused her career on being a writer, with books that have consistently appeared in the NY Times bestseller lists on publication.

Perhaps it’s the thirty year anniversary of the column, or that she’s feeling a new lust for life at 65, or something else entirely, but this year Candace Bushnell, who, at least in the UK, has a much less public profile than her on screen persona Carrie Bradshaw, is touring a one woman show offering to reveal the truth at the heart of her stories.

It’s a sell-out concept with extremely high production values. At least seven pairs of Louboutins, Manolos and more are bathed in the warm glow of their own spotlights lining the front of the stage, with more dressing shelves across the back. However, this shopaholic’s boudoir is disappointingly a bit more Elle Woods than fashion-forward Carrie Bradshaw.

“the content is engaging and will thrill any fans of the show”

In the 90s and even before, through columns in Cosmopolitan and other women’s magazines, it’s clear Candace was a trailblazer, a third wave feminist with Gloria Steinem as a childhood idol, talking frankly and openly about sex. But there’s been criticism of some of the content of the TV series by today’s standards of sex and gender politics. Despite this, Carrie and Candace Bushnell clearly still appeal to many women, with gaggles of girls of all ages queuing down Argyll Street in front of the London Palladium eager to hear from the real Carrie Bradshaw.

Bushnell struts on stage with a perfect blow out, candy red dress, bare legs and of course a matching pair of red Manolos. Even her presentation is expertly polished, but so much so that it feels unnaturally robotic – barely pausing for breath from one line to the next, intentional choreographed movements across the stage from, gasps fixing her mouth and eyes in wide ‘O’s for just a touch too long. Performance wise, it reads more children’s entertainer than mature, sophisticated adult. One can recognise something of Carrie in the way she speaks, her intonation and penchant for rhetorical questions, but it feels written-in to please the audience rather than an authentic reflection of Bushnell. I can’t help but wonder, is this another persona created to hide the real woman?

Despite the delivery, the content is engaging and will thrill any fans of the show. Bushnell tells of her romance with the real Mr Big and plays a game of ‘real or not real’ asking the audience to guess whether she really met Matthew McConaughey in Hollywood, or dated a senator. She reveals the lessons she’s learned from relationships – which are, on the whole, quite sadly cynical: men lie; if you don’t do it someone else will; people in relationships see what they want to see. They are all delivered with a grin and appear tongue in cheek but are a pretty sad indictment of dating. The one point of hope is Bushnell’s thesis that despite the trials and tribulations of relationships with men, your girlfriends – your Mirandas, Charlottes and Samanthas – will always be there for you.

All in all Bushnell provides the entertainment for an enjoyable, if slightly twee, evening out with the women in your life. Best enjoyed after a big bottle of wine and a Cosmo or two.

Tag Archives: LW Theatres

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”

“Ben Stones’ set is astonishing”

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

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

TRUE TALES OF SEX, SUCCESS AND SEX AND THE CITY

★★★½

London Palladium

TRUE TALES OF SEX, SUCCESS AND SEX AND THE CITY at the London Palladium

★★★½

“an enjoyable, if slightly twee, evening out with the women in your life”

“the content is engaging and will thrill any fans of the show”