One of the best plays to come out of Nottinghamshire in recent years, Till the Stars Come Down had its regional premiere at Nottingham Playhouse.
The family drama is written by local playwright Beth Steel, who is from Mansfield. We watched the show during its press night, and have given our honest thoughts.
If you’re looking for things to do in Nottingham this September and autumn, Till the Stars Come Down is playing at Nottingham Playhouse until September 26 (from £14.50pp, nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk). For more reviews like this, subscribe to The Notts Edit to receive our articles in your inbox for free.
Till the Stars Come Down at Nottingham Playhouse theatre review
★★★★★
By Eve Smallman
Photos by Sam Taylor
Making its regional premiere at the Nottingham Playhouse, Till the Stars Come Down is local playwright Beth Steel’s sixth play. This debuted at London’s National Theatre in 2024, before transferring to the West End in 2025. This is a fitting Nottingham homecoming after scooping up two Olivier Award nominations. Many of Beth’s plays take inspiration from her background in Mansfield, drawing on its mining heritage – and this is no different.
The family drama follows Sylvia (AK Golding) and Marek (Ivan Ivashkin)’s wedding day, from the start to right up until the end. The two come from completely different backgrounds – Sylvia a Mansfield girl, Marek a Polish immigrant – and this sets the centre for the boiling point (among the other rifts). It is a real balance between humour and tension, which are tug-of-warred throughout.
You truly feel as though you are at a wedding, and all the nooks and crannies of it. The audience reflection from the getting-ready mirror, the top table feeling on top of you, and the running up and down the aisle throughout (yes, even fittingly as the wedding aisle). No airs and graces – it felt true to the way people talk to each other. They also all nailed the Nottinghamshire accent – some of them are local, like AK Golding and The Television Workshop’s Ellie Daley as Leanne and Anya Marshall as Sarah, but voice dialect coach Kate Godfrey clearly worked magic.
The costuming also creates relaxation and character, with Sylvia’s beautiful stained with age wedding dress, as well as the jewel coloured dresses of the sisters and aunt that brought them together and contrasted them. This was also matched with the loosening of ties, the unfastening of shoes, and even the SPANX that ended up in the audience. This simplicity carried onto the stage, and was especially wonderful when illuminated in the rain scene, with Sylvia’s standstill moment of joy making it ‘sparkle’, as Maggie says.
I really liked how the camcorder was incorporated into the first half, with it being projected onto a screen behind live, illuminating Maggie’s (Leah Brotherhead) nervous finger tapping, the bottle of Smirnoff before it is switched to Polish vodka, the finger on the wine glass rim with Uncle Pete’s (Joe Alessi) recitation of Nottinghamshire’s mining pits. This also showcased some of the humorous areas, like funny faces to the audience and the kicking of confetti.
There is heaps of tension throughout the show, with wounds cut open in the first half that are deftly ripped into in the second half – but for local audiences, the mining strand will resonate particularly. One of the underlying tensions was with the Polish ‘taking’ jobs – especially in an area like Mansfield, which had already had them taken with the mine closures. But then this would be steered back gently with a big bit of comedic relief, usually from the excellent Aunty Carol (Sadie Shimmin), who came into each scene with such gusto and witty lines.
There are also a few other more subtle nods that local audiences will love, like the shout-out to Warsaw Diner, for example (the pancakes and hash browns are amazing for breakfast, FYI).
Throughout, there is a sense of foreboding, which is foreshadowed with small talk about the heatwave and the wedding lantern aflame in the first half. I can’t really speak about the second half without completely spoiling it, but I will say I found the ending uncomfortable. This isn’t a criticism – if anything, it’s praise of Beth Steel’s powerful writing. Life is uncomfortable, and it felt like it captured that perfectly.
I have never come out of a show feeling so breathless, so torn apart, and so moved. It is beautifully poignant and unforgettable. I highly recommend seeing it while it’s still at Nottingham Playhouse – local or not, it’s bittersweet brilliance.
Till the Stars Come Down is playing at Nottingham Playhouse until September 26 (from £14.50pp, nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk).
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