Photo Flash: First Look at the West End Premier of Standing At The Sky’s Edge

Standing at the Sky’s Edge is a mutli-award-winning new British musical, now playing at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London’s West End. Today, The National Theatre and Various Productions released production images for the show, taken by Brinkhoff – Monegenburg.

Written as a love letter to Sheffield and the city’s iconic Park Hill Estate, this 2023 Olivier Award-winning ‘Best New Musical’ is directed by Sheffield Theatre’s Artistic Director, Robert Hastie and features songs but the legendary Sheffield singer-songwriter, Richard Hawley.

As well as winning ‘Best New Musical’ at the 2023 Olivier Awards, Standing at the Sky’s Edge also took home ‘Best Original Score and New Orchestrations’. Recently the production was also awarded the internationally recognized ‘Made in Sheffield’ accolade, the first time a theatre production has received this unique trademark.

With a book by Chris Bush, Standing at the Sky’s Edge charts the hopes and dreams of three generations over the course of six decades, nagivating universal themes of love, loss and survival. The musical is playing at the Gillian Lynne Theatre until the 3^rd August 2024.

First commissioned by Sheffield Theatres and Various Productions, Standing at the Sky’s Edge had its world premiere at the Crucible Theatre in 2019. Following a hugely successful, sold-out run, it returned to the Crucible Theatre in December 2022, selling out again, before making its London premiere in the National Theatre’s Olivier theatre in early 2023 where it continued to sell out and receive standing ovations.

The cast include Jonathan Andre, Elizabeth Ayodele, Jonathon Bentley, Mya Fox-Scott, Joel Harper- Jackson, Sharlene Hector, Samuel Jordon, Rachael Louise Miller, Mel Lowe, David McKechnie, Baker Mukasa, Alastair Natkiel, Laura Pitt-Pulford, Adam Price,  Lauryn Redding, Nicola Sloane, Lillie-Pearl Wildman, Rachael Wooding, Monique Ashe-Palmer, Adam Colbeck-Dunn, Viquichele Cross, Jamie Doncaster, Caroline Fitzgerald, Jerome Lincoln, Sean McLevy and Karen Wilkinson.

The young company completed the cast are Alayna Anderson, Luca Foster-Lejeune, Renée Hart, Eric Madgwick, Chioma Nduka, and Sam Stocks.

Robert Hastie is joined by set and costume designer, Ben Stones; choreographer, Lynne Page; orchestrator and arranger, 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, dialect coaches Michaela Kennen and Shereen Ibrahim. 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, the original live cast recording is available to stream via Spotify and purchase online from major music retailers.