Till the Stars Come Down at Theatre Royal Haymarket
Beth Steel’s Till the Stars Come Down is family drama and its most intense.
Sylvia is getting married and she and her sisters, Hazel and Maggie, are enjoying all being together again for the big day. But Hazel is acting bigoted towards Sylvia’s Polish husband-to-be and meanwhile, something is going on between Maggie and Hazel’s husband. If that’s not enough, there also seems to be a serious rift between their dad and uncle – though no one is quite clear what that’s about. It’s all a boiling pot about to bubble over.
Till the Stars Come Down takes place in a small northern town that is to this day feeling the effects of deindustrialisation. This is a working class family that has been both brought together and torn apart by circumstance. Given the cost of living crisis, it’s a timely reminder of how these times can breed resentment and break previously strong relationships.
The whole family drama plays out and ultimately descends into chaos thing is not exactly new to London theatres. In fact, it might be the most common trope there is. But this one is a particularly well written one. And well performed. And well staged.
It’s all a little over the top. But the characters still manage to be believable. Sinead Matthews, Lucy Black and Aisling Loftus as the three sisters are all fantastic as the play bounces from genuine moments of shock to well delivered comic relief. The latter mostly from Dorothy Atkinson’s Aunty Carol.
Steel’s writing manages to elicit gasp after gasp with each new revelation. And even if the drama is exaggerated, the dialogue feels incredibly natural. And when needed to be, very funny.
Till the Stars Come Down hits audiences at the Theatre Royal Haymarket with a bang, crash and wallop. It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s shocking, it’s entertaining.
Jim Compton-Hall
Photos: Manuel Harlan
Till the Stars Come Down is at Theatre Royal Haymarket from 1st July until 27th September 2025. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.
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