Review: Till The Stars Come Down at Theatre Royal Haymarket

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Five Stars)

Following its highly acclaimed 2024 run at the National Theatre’s Dorfman theatre and an Olivier nomination for Best New Play, Till The Stars Come Down makes a powerful West End debut at Theatre Royal Haymarket - and it’s every bit as impressive and hilarious as promised.

Set in Mansfield (a former pit town in Nottinghamshire and playwright Beth Steel’s hometown) on the wedding day of local bride Sylvia and her Polish fiancé Marek, the play plunges us into the buzzing wedding preparations of a working-class British family. Steel’s dialogue brims with authenticity and humour from the very first scene, perfectly capturing the rhythms, banter, and bickering of the family. 

The ensemble cast is excellent, with every performance bringing nuance to characters who feel instantly recognisable. Dorothy Atkinson is a standout as Aunty Carol: her timing is impeccable, and she earns every single laugh she gets (and there are many). Yet the play never leans too far into farce: as family secrets unravel and prejudices simmer to the surface, the emotional stakes soar. The writing deftly balances comedy with gut-punch drama, drawing audible gasps and murmurs from a demonstrably gripped audience.

Director Bijan Sheibani seamlessly navigates the shifts between raucous hilarity and raw emotion, while Samal Blak’s set design places audience members on stage so as to surround the action on all four sides. This immersive arrangement allows the audience to become part of the wedding - even joining in with a song at one point - while also serving as silent witnesses to the family's private dramas. Paule Constable’s artful lighting is often reflected by a giant disco ball suspended above the stage, mirroring both the celebratory atmosphere and the fractured relationships unfolding beneath.

In a West End landscape often dominated by spectacle or revival, it’s refreshing to see such an intricately drawn, contemporary, working-class narrative take centre stage.

Till The Stars Come Down runs at Theatre Royal Haymarket until 27th September 2025.

Photos by Manuel Harlan