Till the Stars Come Down at Nottingham Playhouse – review

Beth Steel’s Olivier-nominated Till the Stars Come Down has struck a chord with audiences for good reason.

Set around Sylvia and Marek’s wedding in Mansfield, the play unfolds amid the familiar chaos of a family celebration, as sisters Hazel and Maggie, dad Tony, Aunty Carol and Uncle Pete navigate old tensions, new conflicts and the demands of the day.

The production is at its strongest in the opening stages of the first act. The women-only wedding preparations are chock full of chatter, dress mishaps and panic over timings. Steel writes the relationships between the sisters with considerable skill, allowing affection, irritation and rivalry to coexist naturally. She has an excellent ear for comic dialogue, and the script is packed with witty one-liners that generate genuine laughter.

Caroline Steinbeis’ direction ensures scenes move with energy utilising the performance space on and off the stage. Oli Townsend’s design begins with a simple curtain backdrop which parts to reveal the wedding meal and later transforms into a disco dancefloor and the venue’s exterior. Johanna Town’s impressive lighting design ensures each scene is underscored through shifts in colour and tone that reflect the story’s development. Oliver Vibrans’ sound design proves equally effective, enhancing scene transitions and lending texture to the production.

AK Golding handles Sylvia’s character arc with sensitivity. Initially quiet and accommodating, she gradually finds her voice as the play progresses. However, her sense of duty towards her father following her mother’s death never feels entirely convincing, as Tony appears perfectly capable of looking after himself. Emma Pallant perfectly balances Hazel’s stoicism with a nasty bitter streak that becomes increasingly difficult to ignore. Leah Brotherhead gives Maggie a welcome sense of likeable charm which slowly reveals deeper veins of turmoil. Her scenes with Graeme Hawley carry an authentic emotional charge. Hawley brings brilliant light and dark to John. Ellie Daley also impresses as Leanne, Hazel’s daughter, adding conviction to a role that becomes increasingly significant.

Joe Alessi’s strong portrayal of Uncle Pete’s simmering resentment reflects years of hurt. Ivan Ivashkin is less well served by the writing, with Marek often confined to stereotype. Sadie Shimmin’s Aunty Carol delivers many of the evening’s biggest laughs, though stumbles over lines and hesitations occasionally disrupt the rhythm of her performance. Howard Ward’s Tony mostly bumbles through proceedings, but his Tarzan impression proves one of the evening’s comic highlights. The entire cast commits fully, even when the script does not provide the same nuance or consistency in its character development.

There are some great scenes throughout the production. Serious exchanges are punctuated by chaotic wedding games and the clever use of a wobbly hand-held camera. It projects key moments onto a backdrop screen while also capturing smaller details at the table without distracting from the action on stage.

The piece is punctuated by episodes of mysticism: Uncle Pete’s haunting roll call of closed coal mines during the wedding reception, Sylvia standing atop a table as rain falls around her, longing to arrest time itself, and Leanne’s prophetic speech as a paper lantern catches fire. While remarkable in isolation, these moments sit somewhat awkwardly within the play’s otherwise naturalistic framework.

The play suffers from an overabundance of thematic concerns which dilute their impact. Class conflict, prejudice, family loyalty, grief and social change are all introduced, but the sheer number of issues prevents any of them from being fully realised. Promising tensions, from anti-Polish prejudice to lingering mining grudges and family betrayals, are touched upon rather than meaningfully explored.

As it moves into its final stages, the tone and pace shift abruptly, giving way to a succession of heated confrontations. Relationships and loyalties fracture as major revelations surface, but what should be emotionally devastating often lands with less impact than intended.

This is the central frustration of Till the Stars Come Down. There is plenty to admire: strong performances, sharp comic writing, inventive direction, impressive design and instances of real theatrical magic. Yet the sheer number of competing strands never allows any single theme to resonate fully. The result is an entertaining and mostly engaging piece that promises more than it delivers.