The Last Ship
Venue: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London

Sting takes on the role of Jackie White, the shipyard’s foreman whose health is failing just as his leadership is needed most. In this very personal show, the artist immerses the audience in the hometown he was desperate to escape, a world where love, loss, and hope intertwine. Sting’s beloved songs such as Island of Souls, All This Time, and When We Dance are woven into the performance in this fully staged, large-scale production featuring a company of over 50.

I feel like therapy would have been a lot cheaper than writing a whole musical. But anyway. Here we are. 

This is clearly a story that Sting feels very passionate about. It’s based on his own childhood. I wanted to feel that passion too. I didn’t. 

It feels pre-packaged. A paint-it-by-numbers, write-your-own musical formulaic kind of thing. Post seeing the show I have done a bit more reading, I now understand that this is a re-working of the original project, but honestly I feel as though they’ve trapped themselves up a situation without a paddle. 

Visually, it was fantastic. The set and video design from Studio 59 really excelled in bringing the shipyard to life with fantastic art work and an excellent use of digital scenery. However, the true extent of the spectacular multi-media visuals are left right until the very end, which is a shame. 

Vocally, the cast they have assembled are brilliant, with both incredible skill and range. It’s a dream cast, complete with Sting himself, and global reggae icon, Shaggy. However, with predictable lyrics, the songs themselves begin to blur into one.

This show lacks the energy of Billy Elliot and the direction of Made in Dagenham, whilst still trying to make a similar powerful statement. Unfortunately, it falls short. In the world we live today, we need these working class histories to be platformed. Remembered… Respected. This could have maybe benefitted from being told a little quicker, with more input from a wider range of creatives. Perhaps if more women were involved throughout, it could have been so much more.

Only in town at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane till Saturday 3rd October. 

You can book tickets to The Last Ship here.

Review by Yasmin

**photo credit: Nienke de Groot**