Jackie Morrison and Sting in The Last Ship [Nienke De Groot]

STING’S epic musical The Last Ship is meant as a tribute to the people and the place that helped shape him.

Set in Wallsend in the late 1970s, it follows a community facing the closure of the shipyard that sustains it.
Sting plays foreman Jackie White who is dealing with the threat of losing his livelihood as well as his ailing health.

On press night, reggae star Shaggy sloped onstage as the benevolent chorus figure, the Wallsend Ferryman; for the rest of the run the part is played by Lejaun Sheppard.

But even star power can’t save Leo Warner’s sprawling production, which is undeniably imposing, with a huge cast of 50 and an impressive set and video design by 59, a Journey studio.

Sting’s music and lyrics draw on his 1991 album The Soul Cages. The show has had several incarnations, including a lacklustre reception on Broadway in 2014, and now has a new book by Barney Norris.

It feels overloaded with music and spectacle. It might have benefited from more of the human story, including a poignant if slightly predictable love story between publican Meg (an outstanding Frances McNamee) and her fickle ex Gideon (Declan Bennett), who left both the town and her 17 years earlier. Their musical theatre delivery is in stark contrast to Sting’s rock-star brio.

Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong is also striking as Baroness Tynedale, the Thatcher-esque figure of authority, out of touch with the workers.

At almost three hours, it’s overlong and clunky, though Sting fans will get their fill.

Until October 3
thelastship-musical.com/