Songs from the Seven Hills at the Crucible Theatre Sheffield Review

Reviewed by Jenny Bray

‘I see you, but can you see me? I see you, but can you guide me?’ is a recurring song line throughout the show, poignantly used in different situations.

This show was developed as a brand new production incorporating different stories about Sheffield life. The writers met with lots of Sheffield residents including refugees seeking sanctuary in Sheffield and with those who support them in various ways. The result is this brand new production which describes itself as a show with music and tells the story of 6 different people in Sheffield.

It was performed at the Crucible Theatre, the newer of the theatres in Sheffield. It is well signposted and easy to get to. If you head to the Charles Street Q parks you can get the first hour free if you get a ticket from a member of the theatre staff (assuming there’s not an important bike race on the night you attend, which was blocking off the usual car park and a lot of roads in to the city centre tonight!). The staff are welcoming and helpful. The box office is by the main entrance doors and there is a bar and sweet kiosk on the first floor.

The show was created by Noisemaker, which consists of Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie alongside John Hollingworth. It was performed by the Sheffield People’s Theatre, which for this production consisted of over 60 people ranging from 12 to 90! The Sheffield People’s Theatre is a production company who audition and use regular people from everyday life who would like to get involved in a production. This means that they have a genuinely diverse make up of performers from different backgrounds, ages etc.

The show begins with a narrator, Gerald (Ian J France), talking us through some of the story while others are moving around him. He is a ghost who died 6 months earlier in a car crash and is linked to several parts of the overall story.

One of the key storylines of the show then follows a family leaving Syria to head to England to seek asylum. They manage to make their way by boat to Italy then make their way to Calais before paying to be smuggled in a truck to England. They want to make it to Sheffield. Their story is well told and sung by the two daughters; Rahel Pannikar (Lowri Anderson) and Sosa Pannikar (Emily Hurst).

Another of the storylines is that of Bex (Bronwen Ebdon), who is trying to keep The Lighthouse, a community project in Shiregreen, open. The community centre helps both the local community and refugees in the city, but developers are trying to force it to close. Her story follows her battle to try to keep the space open.

A further story is that of a vicar called Linda (Jane Norburn) who finds the courage to make some important decisions about her life and her family and then struggles with her relationship with God.

There is also the storyline of Georgie (Tommi Bryson), a young male identifying as a female and wanting to be accepted by both her family and by medical practitioners in order to be prescribed hormones to complete the change. She describes to the doctor that, ’My body is a home and I want it to feel comfortable’ before describing the ways you’d change your house if you weren’t keen on things like the paint colours or decor.

The final story is that of Kaye (Liz Seneviratne), Gerald’s wife, and how she is coping after his death.

Intertwined in the stories is the grand opening of a new Scandinavian furniture store called ‘Scandia’ with absolutely no similarities to a certain other large store that recently opened in Sheffield after years of opposition!

One thing I found a little strange is that the score of songs wasn’t listed in the programme. Due to the number of cast and the swapping around of the storyline I’d also be unable to tell you some of the main actors names, which is a shame as so many of them were great.

I found it to be more of a musical than a show. Some of the same songs are repeated throughout the show and this aspect worked well as they became familiar amongst a completely new and unknown storyline that sometimes darted around a bit. Some other lines of songs that stuck in my head were, ‘It goes on life, with or without you. So do you go with it or let it go by?’ and, ‘Every new beginning comes from some beginning’s end’. Again, these were repeated a few times throughout.

The stage setting was fairly simple yet worked well. The stage transformed between being The Lighthouse, Scandia, Calais, the underground and several other settings smoothly and the stage lighting was used well, with spotlights for solos. Some parts of stage were moved around with different things on to show different settings and a few different backdrops were used.

I wasn’t sure who the 6 main people of the show were during the first half of the show. I was also a little confused by the storyline in the first half hour or so as it kept switching from one story to a different one. However, it all became clear as the show progressed and all came together in the second half when all of the individual stories also came together.

I liked the portrayal of a member of the older generation mentioning about Brexit voting and being anti foreigners but their view being challenged by an aspect of the refugees story that is told in the second half.

Although I initially found the plot quite hard to follow, it all came together towards the end and I really enjoyed it. The energy and enthusiasm of the cast was evident throughout the show as they genuinely looked like they were all enjoying it. It’s a shame that it’s only on for a few days so more people won’t get the opportunity to see it.

Rating: 4.5/5

Tickets cost from £15 to £29 (booking fees may apply).

Songs from the Seven Hills is a the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield from 18-21 July 2018, for more information or to book tickets visit www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk or call the box office on 0114 249 6000.

Crucible Theatre, 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA | 0114 249 6000