Standing at the Sky’s Edge: Sheffield production will transfer to West End after winning ‘Best New Musical’

The new British musical, set in Sheffield’s Park Hill flats, won ‘Best New Musical’ with Sheffield singer-songwriter, Richard Hawley and Tom Deering winning ‘Best Original Score and New Orchestrations’ at last night’s 2023 Olivier Awards ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall.

Standing at the Sky’s Edge was originally written as a love letter to Sheffield and an ode to the Park Hill Estate. Directed by Sheffield Theatres’ director, Robert Hastie, featuring songs by Richard Hawley and with book by Chris Bush, it charts the hopes and dreams of three generations over the course of six tumultuous decades.

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

Director, Robert Hastie said he was “enormously proud”. He said: “We’ve all been thrilled by the response to Standing at the Sky's Edge during great runs at the Sheffield Crucible and the National Theatre. It’s a massive achievement by everyone involved to have told this story with such passion and commitment that we’re now able to announce this transfer to the Gillian Lynne, the perfect theatre for this story’s next chapter. I'm enormously proud and excited.”

Playwright, Chris Bush said: “Making Standing at the Sky's Edge has been the most extraordinary and rewarding experience of my professional career. To see audiences at the National Theatre leap to their feet for these characters and these stories with the same enthusiasm as those in Sheffield has meant the world to me.”

Composer, Richard Hawley said: “In all honesty I never really thought this story would leave the inside of our minds, but to see it blossom and grow from a heartfelt set of ideas exchanged in a Sheffield pub to sell out shows at the Crucible and National theatres every single night has been a very powerful experience.”

Dates, including assisted performances, casting and booking information are to be announced. To sign up for more news and pre-sale access, visit: https://www.skysedgemusical.com/