Standing at the Sky's Edge
Gillian Lynne Theatre

THERE is such joy in this piece that it’s possible to get carried away by the sheer optimism and exuberance of it. That makes the concomitant howl of despair all the harder to bear.

This award-winning musical, with songs from the genius of modern-day bard Richard Hawley, spans six decades. The post-war years of the 1950s bring irrepressible hope that working-class folk are to be rewarded with better lives, in the form of swish new flats, in their “streets in the sky.”

Loving couple Rose (Rachael Wooding, a breathtaking talent) and Harry (Joel Harper-Jackson, in a sensitive portrayal of a broken man) frolic in their new space: Sheffield’s Park Hill estate, a 1,000-flat complex, inspired by the brutalist work of architect Le Corbusier. Their slum days are over, there are all mod cons to enjoy, a blissful married life beckons, with Harry boasting he will be the youngest foreman at the steelworks.