Till the Stars Come Down: 'an early contender for the best play of the year'

Bijan Sheibani's blistering comedy about three sisters in Mansfield is like 'Chekhov on Heineken'

Sinéad Matthews (Sylvia), Lisa McGrillis (Maggie), Philip Whitchurch (Uncle Pete), Lorraine Ashbourne (Aunty Carol) and Lucy Black (Hazel) in Till the Stars Come Down at the National Theatre
Sinéad Matthews (Sylvia), Lisa McGrillis (Maggie), Philip Whitchurch (Uncle Pete), Lorraine Ashbourne (Aunty Carol) and Lucy Black (Hazel) in Till the Stars Come Down at the National Theatre
(Image credit: Manuel Harlan)

"Too often, when working-class characters are allowed on stage, they speak in the voice of a socially conscious playwright who has just returned from a field trip," said Clive Davis in The Times. But in this new play at the National – set in the former pit town of Mansfield – the characters' "passions, jokes and prejudices" feel totally authentic.

With three sisters at its centre and its regional setting, Beth Steel's "unmissable" jewel of a play is like "Chekhov on Heineken", said Sarah Crompton on What's on Stage. It's a blistering comedy, yet "full of the deepest, saddest truths about life and love" – and it reaches "the parts other plays don't reach".

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