Type – Independent Theatre, British Theatre, Family Drama
If you liked – August: Osage County, Offspring, Packed To The Rafters
Till The Stars Come Down: A powerfully acted deeply recognisable family drama brimming with skeleton-filled closets and drunk aunts in tacky hats
KXT on Broadway is a bit of an unsung hero for artistic programming, becoming a hotbox of brilliance that has been putting some larger companies’ line-ups to shame. Till The Stars Come Down by British playwright Beth Steel is no exception. It’s also commendable for getting an Australian premiere less than 12 months after the closure of the West End production.
Set over a 12 hour period at the wedding of a working class family in an ex-mining town in the English Midlands, the play tackles family, class identity, immigration, and family politics with earnestness and fervour. Quickly overcoming some pacing issues in the first 20 minutes of the play, the story takes off and doesn’t come up for air as the family is pulled downwards and ripped apart. Steel’s piece is almost a British reveille to Tracy Letts’, August Osage County, but it’s far more relatable to a contemporary audience. Unlike Letts’ work where it feels like you need to be a literary scholar to truly embrace the work, Steel’s play feels almost homely, and deeply recognisable of any family event some of us may have had to endure.
Director Anthony Skuse has superbly crafted every moment of this play; along with assistant director Charlotte Savva, they have created a powerful piece of independent theatre. They’ve ensured there is not a single weak link in the cast, and no moment of Steel’s writing is overlooked, allowing this to become a true piece of ensemble theatre.
Ainslie McGlynn as the de facto family matriarch and ‘casually’ bigoted, Hazel, delivers a knockout performance in which she becomes the beating heart of the production. Hazel’s sisters, aloof middle sister Maggie is carefully brought to life by Jane Angharad, and ‘baby’ sister Sylvia, whose wedding has pulled everyone together, is celestially brought to life by Imogen Sage. McGlynn, Angharad, and Sage have a delectably catty chemistry that perfectly encapsulates the awkwardness and nuance of adult inter-sibling tension.
Jo Briant is hysterically and thoroughly endearing as the recognisable, perpetually wine-drunk Aunty Carol, her scenes with widowed family patriarch Tony, played by Peter Eyers, are a beautiful reminder of how long sparks of young love can linger late into life. Eyers’ performance is stoic and filled with gems of true subtlety, especially in a moment with the character’s youngest grandchild, Sarah, played by the energetic Kira McLennan. Equally, Brendan Miles as Tony’s estranged brother gives a refined performance that matches Eyers’ presence.
James Smithers gives a masterful performance as Hazel’s emotionally lost husband, John. As does Zoran Jevtic, as Marek, Sylvia’s Polish fiancé, Jevtic’s delivery of Marek’s stunning rebuttals to the family’s less than subtle digs at his immigration status is worth the price of admission alone.
One of the most stellar performances comes from Amy Goedecke as Hazel’s eldest daughter Leanne, who inevitably plays a crucial part in the family’s implosion. If McGlynn’s performance was the beating heart, Goedecke’s is its impressionable and naive soul.
Where this production’s stars start to fall down is when the lighting design by Topaz Marlay-Cole doesn’t quite manage to be as dynamic as the actors it’s illuminating. With such powerful performances, and so many moments provided in Steel’s rich script for heavily saturated colour, Marlay-Cole has opted for mostly a single flat state. Smithers’ subtle set has made good use of KXT’s compact space, with bonus marks for the impressive rain effect at the pinnacle of the wedding dinner table scene.
Despite the early pacing issues, the play is an extraordinary piece that expertly rebukes the casual bigotry and racism that is giving rise to right-wing populism in a post Brexit England – or right here at home. The way Steel has chosen to end the piece is fascinating and feels like a freeze frame of the split second between implosion and explosion. If you can’t see some flashes of your own family in this play, you haven’t been paying enough attention around the Christmas/wedding/funeral/anniversary dinner table.
Is Till The Stars Come Down Worth Seeing in Sydney?
It’s a resounding yes, this is an outstanding production with some of the most impressive ensemble acting in the city this year. Despite some technical missteps, this is sure to become a hot ticket of a new piece of deeply relatable contemporary writing that will be popping up in the independent and community theatre market for many, many years.
Tickets and Practical Info for Till The Stars Come Down in Sydney 🎟️
Secret House in association with Bakehouse Theatre Co
KXT Broadway
27 March – 11 April
Tickets: https://www.kingsxtheatre.com/till-the-stars-come-down
CREATIVES
Playwright – Beth Steel
Director – Anthony Skuse
Producer – Jane Angharad
Set Designer – James Smithers
Lighting Designer – Topaz Marlay-Cole
Composer & Sound Designer – Layla Phillips
Costume Designer / Asst Director – Charlotte Savva
Dialect Coach – Linda Nicholls-Gidley
Intimacy Coordinator – Shondelle Pratt
Fight Choreographer – Diego Retamales
Stage Manager – Daniel Wearden
Asst Producer – Talia Benatar
Photography – Braiden Toko
Marketing – Chloe Callow
Asst Set Builder – Max Shaw
CAST
Hazel – Ainslie McGlynn
Maggie – Jane Angharad
Sylvia – Imogen Sage
Aunty Carol – Jo Briant
John – James Smithers
Tony – Peter Eyers
Marek – Zoran Jevtic
Pete – Brendan Miles
Leanne – Amy Goedecke
Sarah – Kira McLennan
Waiter – Nick McGrory
Waiter – Pita Lolohea
Waiter – Marley Isaac Dunn
Waiter – Cyan Fernando
