Till The Stars Come Down Review (Theatre Royal Haymarket, London)

19 July 2025 I 14:30 I Theatre Royal Haymarket, London

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There have been some undeniably outstanding 21st century playwriting debuts, from Duncan Macmillan's People, Places & Things to James Graham's Punch. With a severely underhyped West End debut for Beth Steel, Till The Stars Come Down is a contemporary landmark that pummels the wind out of its audiences with raging comic skill, entwined with narratives exposing bigotry towards Eastern European immigrants. The typically proscenium Theatre Royal Haymarket earns an immersive makeover, as audiences prepare to attend a wedding night that no-one could forget.

Seated onstage, the opportunity to make your West End stage debut this summer is one you cannot miss. Opening with Sylvia's wedding preparations, we bear witness to a blistering comedic tone and realist drama. Upon entering the wedding reception, the fourth wall is broken, as onstage viewers can engage in conversation with performers, just like an extended family member! Whether the hysterical Aunty Carol (Dorothy Atkinson) is vomiting between unsuspecting viewers, or bread rolls are launched mere inches from your feet, this limited seating area goes down in the history books!!

Featuring a script embedded with poo jokes and "chuffing hell's" aplenty, Steel utilises her Nottinghamshire demonym to strip the London theatre scene of its sometimes elitist identity, endowing the West End with northern veracity. Being of the same region of the UK myself, Steel's writing is remarkably tender and hearty.

The casting for this National Theatre revival is at an immensely high calibre. Lucy Black's Hazel steers the production with a commanding female presence, embodying a character that feels so authentic, highly entertaining with her no-nonsense attitude but ultimately, a fatigued mother yearning for appreciation. Her prejudices are uncomfortable as to invoke a social critique on scapegoated immigrants. Yet Steel's writing allows audiences to remain sympathetic with Hazel, a testament to the complexity of her characters.

Attending Sylvia and Marek's wedding, Sinéad Matthew's optimistic bride initially carries a reserved stance, coming to relish her mystical asides under Samal Blak's design. Abstraction often follows Matthews, and as the heavens open on her pearly white wedding dress, the attention to meteorological symbols and unsettling shifts of fate snowball into a tragic finale.

This celestial motif is complimented by Paule Constable's ethereal lighting designs. Whether it comes in the form of a fiery lantern illuminating the stage in a flickering blaze, or suspending time in vibrant illusions amidst Maggie and John's (Aisling Loftus and Adrian Bower) supremely performed affair, Constable's transformative designs support an evening that changes the course of everyone's lives.

With direction from Bijan Sheibani (revival director Elin Schofield), Till The Stars Come Down's West End transfer is one of the most impeccable modern stagings to hit the theatre scene. Skilfully interchanging comedic and tragic narratives, you could encounter Aunty Carol throwing shapes to Britney Spears' Toxic, and the violent swing to Marek's (Julian Kostov) striking defencelessness... there is something in this production for all audiences! Make sure to grab the onstage seating before you're too late!!