EDINBURGH 2023: Review: TITANIC: THE LAST HERO AND THE LAST COWARD, Charlotte Chapel

The Titanic has been in the news quite a lot this year with its endlessly fascinating, tragic story. When a third-class passenger accosts the chairman of the White Star Line as he tries to spot his family on the quay before the crossing, an unlikely friendship begins. One a pastor from Scotland, the other a well-bread gentleman who’s proud of the work he’s done. Going back and forth between the inquiry after the shipwreck and Joseph Ismay’s retelling of his time on board the ship, it’s a very traditional, alright text staged with solid acting from the two.

With easy humour to break the tension and a shallow exploration of conscience and ethics, the piece doesn’t truly plunge into the depths of what caused the wreck or the tragedy that ensued. It’s a lovely play, but it doesn’t leave a mark. Empathy breaks the professional stoicism shown by Ismay during the hearing and Rev. John Harper becomes the comic relief with his outlandish history of three close calls with drowning and his stint on a leaky ship once.

The script mentions all the crucial issues, from the lack of an appropriate number of lifeboats to the frenzy that saw few grown men taking over entire vessels in terror rather than filling them up and save more. It won’t quench the thirst of the Titanic-curious, but it showcases strong performances by both and an intriguing view of guilt and penance.

Titanic: The Last Hero and the Last Coward runs at Charlotte Chapel on the following dates: 8-9, 12, 15-16, 18-19, 23-25 August.

To post a comment, you must register and login.