Review Roundup: THE LAST SHIP UK Tour Kicks Off in Newcastle

The UK premiere of The Last Ship - the acclaimed musical by the internationally renowned musician Sting - just opened at Northern Stage in Newcastle. The production has a TONY-nominated original score and lyrics composed by Sting. It will play a 4-week season in Newcastle before embarking on a major UK & Ireland Tour.

The cast includes Joe McGann (Jackie White), Charlie Hardwick (Peggy White), Richard Fleeshman (Gideon Fletcher) and Frances McNamee (Meg Dawson).

The Last Ship, which was initially inspired by Sting's 1991 album The Soul Cages and his own childhood experiences, tells the story of a community amid the demise of the shipbuilding industry in Tyne and Wear, with the closure of the Swan Hunter shipyard.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Michael Billington, The Guardian: The show is at its strongest when dealing with the workers, and produces some of the most thrilling choral writing I've heard in a British musical since Howard Goodall's The Hired Man. An opening number itemises the hardships faced by the riveters and welders, and Sting later shows his capacity to seize on a single phrase - The Only Life We Know Is in the Shipyard - and turn it into a stirring, foot-stamping anthem. After this, Gideon's private problems seem less exciting and the initial lyrics - "I'll find us a berth / At the end of the Earth," he tells his childhood sweetheart - don't hold out much promise. But the mature Meg is a fascinating character who enjoys her independence and informs us, in a rousing number that has faint echoes of Kurt Weill, that "a sailor is not a man to be trusted".

Mark Brown, The Telegraph: As it reaches its emotive conclusion, The Last Ship has shades of Billy Elliot, in the sense that it brings together a decidedly mainstream, popular artistic form with a strong political commitment. If the standing ovation given to the company (including Sting, who joined them onstage) on opening night is any measure, it is a winning combination.

Allan Radcliffe, The Times: Often, when rock stars turn their talents to musical theatre, the result is little more than an extended medley of their greatest hits, tenuously strung together by a nominal storyline. While the score for Sting's Tyneside-set musical The Last Ship features several entries from the singer-songwriter's discography, including songs from his 2013 concept album of the same name, there is nothing cynical or jaded about the deeply personal project.

Tracey Sinclair, The Stage: Standing out in a universally strong cast, Joe McGann brings a stoic dignity to the role of foreman Jackie White. He and Charlie Hardwick (as his wife Peggy) eloquently portray a decades-long marriage in a life that has many quiet joys, but has been anything but easy, and their relationship is the real heart of the piece. While the supporting characters are a little broadly drawn, they never fall into caricature.

Quentin Letts, Daily Mail: As a dizzyingly rich pop star, Sting could have taken it easy, counting his money and oiling his limbs for the occasional bout of tantric gymnastics with lovely wife Trudie. Instead, to his credit, he has spent years honing a romantic musical about the decline of shipbuilding in his home town of Wallsend on Tyneside. Geographically and politically, The Last Ship is roughly in Billy Elliot territory.

Photo Credit: Pamela Raith

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