Standing At The Sky's Edge

Gillian Lynne Theatre, 28/02/24

Credit: Johan Persson

Final rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Though advertised as a musical, in my opinion this felt more like a play, with songs. I couldn’t recite a single lyric or recall any of the tunes, but the story has stayed with me. Unfortunately, the modern musical market is competitive. Operation Mincemeat is in a league of its own when it comes to a compelling story, told with vigour and through a catchy, recognisable score. I enjoyed Sky’s Edge, but nowhere near as much as Mincemeat.

Set across three different time zones, a projection screen was lowered from the ceiling to indicate which year we were about to watch – something probably unnecessary as the excellent costumes alone gave a pretty clear indication. We see three different families reside in the same flat, the most recent of which gets a modern upgrade as the once culturally significant area gets gentrified.

I liked the set, and having the band and on-stage swing travel through a huge block of flats in the background was an immersive touch. And there are some significantly strong singing performances throughout too. Special mentions go to Laura Pitt-Pulford's Poppy, Lauryn Redding's Nikki, and Samuel Jordan's Jimmy. But the entire thing felt a bit like a Richard Hawley showcase rather than fully-fledged musical piece. At times, the songs even felt a bit shoe-horned in with little relevance to the action we'd just watched unfold on stage. Even the First Act's closing number, a high energy rock ballad, was confusing since it featured the cast running up and down through the audience and chucking clothes and rubbish from balconies onto the stage.

It had its moments, but it's not something that particularly struck me as powerful at the time or indeed something that has stayed with me.