I didn’t want to make it political band standing or finger-wagging. You get to the morality just by telling the story.” A love letter to Sheffield and a history of modern Britain told through the stories of one iconic estate, Standing at the Sky’s Edge charts the hopes and dreams of three generations over the course of six tumultuous decades. Lord came up with the project after hearing about electric graffiti created by Jason Lowe at Park Hill asking his lover to marry him. “I was listening in inadvertently and I was just gripped by the story,” Lord recalled. There's A Storm A-Comin' (Full Version)" (The original shorter version was released on 2009's "False Lights From The Land" EP) – 5:33

Standing at the Sky's Edge was first performed at Sheffield Theatres in 2019, when it won Best Musical Production at the UK Theatre Awards and the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Theatre. It was revived in 2022, before transferring to the National Theatre, London, directed by Robert Hastie. Wright, Helen. "Review: Richard Hawley, Standing At the Sky's Edge". MusicOMH . Retrieved 28 October 2012. Studarus, Laura (7 June 2012). "Richard Hawley Announces Standing at the Sky's Edge Release Date". Under the Radar . Retrieved 28 October 2012. a b c d O'Hagen, Sean (28 April 2012). "Richard Hawley: 'The gloves are off. This is my angry record' ". The Guardian . Retrieved 28 October 2012. a b Millward, Tom (28 February 2023). "My Neighbour Totoro and Standing at the Sky's Edge receive most nominations at 2023 Olivier Awards". WhatsOnStage . Retrieved 28 February 2023.Underwood, Kitty (19 February 2020). "National Theatre announces 9 new productions for 2020/2021". Official London Theatre . Retrieved 10 February 2023.

Standing at the Sky's Edge is the seventh studio album from English musician Richard Hawley, released in the UK on 7 May 2012 and in the US on 28 August 2012. The album is markedly different from Hawley's previous efforts, often relinquishing softer instrumentation in favour of squalling guitars. As with all of Hawley's previous albums, the title obliquely refers to a location in his native city of Sheffield, in this case Skye Edge, a hillside area with views over the city centre and formerly known for its crime-ridden estates but largely redeveloped in the mid-2000s. [2] [3]Standing at the Sky’s Edgeplayed two seasons at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield and then a six-week run at the National Theatre in London, which ended nine days ago. It played on the NT’s Olivier main stage to audience numbers of over 50,000, according to Rupert Lord of Various Productions who came up with the original idea.

Hailing The Leadmill for “providing me personally with a platform to learn my shit”, Hawley noted that he’s “the musician that’s played there the most by a considerable margin” – having been performing there under various guises since he was a teen. With him leaving the on-stage work of the musical to the cast, could we see him making a cameo in an eventual film? a b "Richard Hawley's musings on love". BBC News Sheffield & South Yorkshire. 17 May 2012 . Retrieved 28 October 2012. Hardy, Tony (14 May 2012). "Review: Richard Hawley – Standing at the Sky's Edge". Consequence of Sound . Retrieved 2 September 2012. If I was running a venue, or even a chip shop, I’d think, ‘Hold on a sec, if they get away with it with these, then who’s next?’ It’s just wrong.”a b c Jurek, Thom. Richard Hawley: Standing at the Sky's Edge> Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2 September 2012. Asked if he’d be likely to join them on stage again, he replied: “We shall have to wait and see. There’s no point in me giving the game away now! a b Gill, Andy (5 May 2012). "Review: Richard Hawley, Standing At the Sky's Edge". The Independent. London, England: Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022 . Retrieved 28 October 2012. Exhilarating and big-hearted... Bush's script is sparkily witty and affectionate, she interweaves the stories with great skill... A wonderfully generous, uplifting piece of theatre' Financial Times Set to the irresistible songs of legendary Sheffield singer-songwriter Richard Hawley, it is a heartfelt exploration of the power of community and what it is we call home.