Standing at the Sky’s Edge in rehearsals ahead of West End run
Take a look inside rehearsals for for Sheffield Theatres’ Standing at the Sky’s Edge, ahead of the show’s West End transfer next month.
Co-produced by the National Theatre with Various Productions, the piece received a glowing review from WhatsOnStage during its 2022 run at the Crucible in Sheffield, before it transferred to the National’s Olivier stage.
Described as “a love letter to Sheffield and ode to the iconic Park Hill Estate”, the musical follows three generations over the course of six tumultuous decades. It features a book by Chris Bush and songs by Richard Hawley, and picked up the Olivier Award for Best New Musical last year.
Joining the cast for the new run at the Gillian Lynne Theatre are Elizabeth Ayodele (Small Island) as Joy, Joel Harper-Jackson (Cock) as Harry, Sharlene Hector (A Strange Loop) as Grace, Mel Lowe (Orlando) as Connie, Laura Pitt-Pulford (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers) as Poppy and Lauryn Redding (Bloody Elle) as Nikki. Returning to reprise their roles are Samuel Jordan (Masters of the Air) as Jimmy, Baker Mukasa (The Comedy of Errors) as George, Alastair Natkiel (Line of Duty) as Marcus and Rachael Wooding (Pretty Woman: The Musical) as Rose.
Completing the company are Jonathan Andre (The Lion King) as Max, Jonathon Bentley (From Here to Eternity) as Gary, Mya Fox-Scott (making her professional debut) as Jenny, Rachael Louise Miller (Les Misérables) as Cathy, Adam Price (Privates on Parade) as Charles, Nicola Sloane (Backstairs Billy) as Vivienne, Lillie-Pearl Wildman (Sunset Boulevard) as Justine and David McKechnie (Flowers for Mrs Harris) as Joe/Workman.
Also appearing are Monique Ashe-Palmer, Adam Colbeck-Dunn, Viquichele Cross, Jamie Doncaster, Caroline Fitzgerald, Jerome Lincoln, Sean McLevy and Karen Wilkinson.
The young company in the show are Alayna Anderson, Luca Foster-Lejeune, Renee Hart, Eric Madgwick, Chioma Nduka, and Sam Stocks.
Alongside director Robert Hastie, the creative team includes set and costume designer Ben Stones, choreographer Lynne Page, orchestrator and arranger and originating music supervisor Tom Deering, lighting designer Mark Henderson, sound designer Bobby Aitken, wigs, hair, and make-up designer Cynthia De La Rosa, casting director Stuart Burt CDG, children’s casting director Chloe Blake and dialect coaches Michaela Kennen and Shereen Ibrahim. The associate director is Elin Schofield, associate choreographer is Thomas Herron, musical director and associate music supervisor is Alex Beetschen, associate sound designer is Jonas Roebuck, and associate costume designer is Sally Wilson.
Standing at the Sky’s Edge will run at the Gillian Lynne Theatre from 8 February, with tickets on sale below.
