Review: THE LAST SHIP - Theatre Royal Drury Lane (23/09/26)
In spite of some terrific music, Sting's maritime musical ends up treading water
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When most of us think of the North East, two main points of interest are likely to spring to mind: football and the sea, though not usually in the same breath. It is in the latter camp where we find ourselves with this nautical tale, penned by Wallsend native Sting (Gordon Sumner), who has taken inspiration from his own childhood experiences, and adapted a musical from his solo album "The Soul Cages", in a project that had been more than 20 years in the making when it first opened in Chicago back in 2014. What he, John Logan and Brian Yorkey came up with is a musical steeped in working class Geordie culture and traditional English folk music, in an ode to the Police singer's earliest upbringing.
As a Tyneside native, this is a show that immediately piqued my interest, not just through the inclusion of Sting, but the themes, attitudes and sense of pride associated with the region that one would expect. We start out strong with a stunning solo reel from renowned Northumbria piper Kathryn Tickell, as the sheer gargantuan scale of Jenny Melville’s set design, equally displaying terrific functionality, makes itself known, and Sting himself entering from a descending platform. This entrance does feel a touch conceited in its execution, but certainly does make our central protagonist known from the off.
From here our story begins; the setting in which we find ourselves is 1980s Tyneside shipyards, in the midst of a significant industrial dispute, as we follow a community of shipbuilders, along with their families and friends, and the closure of their shipyard as a consequence of Thatcher’s war on industry that also included direct attacks on mining communities. What is conveyed superbly well is that salt of the earth working class pride and stubbornness that are so central to and synonymous with all things Geordie, and we definitely gain a potent sense of community from this quite enormous ensemble cast. Does this make for a cohesive, well balanced overall narrative though? Sadly something got lost along the way, as it was immensely difficult to feel anything for many of these characters, though this is largely down to how they are written rather than performed.
There is no doubt that this was a massive passion project of Sting’s, with a narrative crafted from his own experiences growing up in the north east, and an original score that comprises a mix of his prior composed songs, traditional folk music, and more standard show tunes. Whether or not it works as a fully staged musical is another story, and even considering the lack of musical theatre writing experience of the man who’s written it, there are too many moments and scenes that don’t necessarily have the same emotional impact that was intended; while not a complete shipwreck, the seas we traverse during this almost three hour voyage could undoubtedly have been smoother.
This is mainly the consequence of the book feeling fairly disjointed and clunky, as due to the multiple revisions, it very much seems like a case of too many books spoil the plot, as this new iteration by Barney Norris is the third of the show's more substantial material. This is most noticeable when it comes to one of our primary protagonists as, in spite of Jackie’s story being one of the most emotionally driven, it ends up being the one that doesn’t really land in the desired manner, compounded by the fact that his final moments end up becoming something of a damp squib. What we have, in a nutshell, is several plot strands that largely don't align or connect in any way until right at the end, by which it’s too late to make any meaningful connections.
Though there was an interesting mix of attempted north eastern accents on display, from absolutely spot on to geographically vague to downright puzzling, this was a strong cast who excelled vocally, and more often than not wore their hearts on their sleeves with their delivery of this fiercely northern narrative. In spite of the shortcomings of his character's arc, Sting’s own performance in the role of Jackie was wonderfully sturdy and heartfelt, as what he lacks in acting ability he more than makes up for in pure drive and real lived authenticity. His opposite number, Jackie Morrison, brings wife Peggy to life with a gutsy, unyielding dominance.
Frances McNamee gave a real powerhouse performance as Meg, bags of gumption yet sincerity, and in spite of how overbearing her character can be, we feel the love she has for her daughter, herself portrayed superbly well by Hannah Richardson. Completing this dysfunctional trio is Declan Bennett as Gideon, returning after 17 years at sea, who proves both endearing and frustrating, and his chemistry with both McNamee and Richardson is rather wonderful. Additionally, the role of Baroness Tynedale is one that provides us with the perfect antagonist, with Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong representing the country’s fierce industrial enemy extremely well, and giving the perfect amount of sanctimony, but with just enough humour to puncture this.
Although the role of the Wallsend Ferryman is one whose appearances are sparse, in addition to Shaggy more or less playing himself in this part, he still provides a decent amount of intrigue, linking us from scene to scene through song and prose. It can be to one's benefit or detriment to have preconceived expectations about a piece of theatre, especially due to one's own individual, substantial connections to the material, and sadly, whilst Sting's original music is brimming with personality and northern zest, I was just left wanting a little due to the fairly generic, flat, unengaging plot, during which more than once I did find my focus drifting slightly; this certainly wasn't a disaster by any stretch, it just wasn't the nautical excursion I wanted or expected.
★★★☆☆ (3*)
"The Last Ship" runs at "Theatre Royal Drury Lane" until the 3rd of October (tickets)
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