Review: GHOSTS OF THE TITANIC, Park Theatre

Just a few days after it was announced that Ernest Shackleton's Endurance was found in near-perfect conditions off the coast of Antarctica after it sank in 1915, a play about another tragic, marginally more famous shipwreck opens at the Park Theatre.

When we think of the Titanic, images of Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet's love affair flash in our brains. We rarely hear the screams of terror in pitch-black darkness once the ship's light went off or their sudden stop as 1500 people were dying in the freezing waters. Hollywood could have made a horror film, but they opted for romance.

Now, decorated Belfast writer Ron Hutchinson offers us a different take on the disaster in the Park's world premiere directed by Eoin O'Callaghan. The grandson of one of the Titanic shipfitters, Hutchinson explores how, as news of the wreck were being circulated widely, misinformation and conspiracy theories took hold of public opinion.

Emma's fiancé, Henry, had just landed a job with the orchestra when he died on board. Dissatisfied with the official statements and reasons given by White Star Line, she sets off to find the truth herself. Where Peter Jackson gave us a love story, O'Callaghan stages a film noir. The characters talk to each other across separate timelines aided by Pip Thurlow's stark lighting design and accompanied by Steven Edis's melodic jazz in a project that has clear vision and captivating stylistic choices, but plays it safe with recognisable tropes and punchy dialogue.

A shady reporter, a hard-edged but sensitive editor, a guilt-ridden naval engineer, an abrasive detective, and a torn doctor on JP Morgan's payroll all work against a desperate woman in search of answers. There's even an awkward hug that would be at home in a Billy Wilder film. Over the top with its delivery and shameless in the artificiality of its exchanges, Ghosts of the Titanic still succeeds in planting the suspicion of foul play and human misjudgement in the sinking of the unsinkable.

While he forgoes subtext in much of it and opts for precisely defined information - both about the historical facts and his characters' intentions - Hutchinson still writes a compelling drama that whets the appetite of Titanic conspiracy theorists and curious minds alike. He is unforgiving as he reveals all the elements at play: a coal fire that weakened the hull, the overly ambitious size, and the money that would have stuffed J.P. Morgan's pockets if something were to go wrong.

The fast-paced and fact-heavy exposition of the first act gives way to subdued resignation in the second. Genevieve Gaunt's Emma feverishly clutches her newspaper clippings at the start as John Hopkins's suave and soft-spoken Molloy asks for her account, but stares blankly in front of her while her sanity is being questioned by a subservient Clive Brill as Myers.

While Hutchinson's female protagonist suffers without pause, the other women in the piece come off as steely and quite progressive ladies. Swanson's (Lizzy McInnerny) private life takes a surprising turn once the identity of her lover is revealed, and Spinks (Sarah Ridgeway) is the embodiment of the hardened, embittered detective.

While there might be nothing fishy behind the loss of so many lives at sea, the writer shines a light on how corruption and wealth can manipulate the public perception of a tragedy. Swanson's statements about the explosions of violence as people rushed to the lifeboats don't fit into the romantic narrative that's being painted, and it's very probable that the band weren't playing anything of note as they were going down.

The women are being silenced from the top and their position in society has as much a hand as the men's greed. Myers stresses that there's nothing verifiable about Emma's story, not even her existence, since she is a woman and barred from leaving a footprint of any kind. Hers was a lost battle from the beginning.

Hutchinson's perceptive views on the tragedy are intriguing. His evidence might not be damning and his investigation only surface, but Ghosts of the Titanic remains a titillating show on many sides.

Ghosts of the Titanic runs at the Park Theatre until 2 April.

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