Jimmy Nail, Sting and director Lorne Campbell. Picture: Mark Savage
Sting’s highly personal debut musical The Last Ship will head home to Newcastle with screen star Jimmy Nail at the helm in 2018.
Produced by Northern Stage in association with Karl Sydow and Kathryn Schenker, the production will be directed by Northern Stage’s artistic director Lorne Campbell.
Commenting on the production, Campbell said: “It is a great pleasure and a privilege to be bringing this new version of The Last Ship to Newcastle. Sting’s score is steeped deep in the traditions of Northumbrian music and this epic story is fundamental to the identity of the people of the North East. This is a story of community, of resilience and how in even the very darkest of moments, hope and possibility remain.”
A four-week launch season at Northern Stage in Newcastle, beginning on 12 March 2018, will be followed by a major UK and Ireland tour which will include runs in Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, Salford and York.
Featuring music and lyrics by The Police frontman, the show which was inspired by the singer’s own childhood experiences and his 1991 album ‘The Soul Cages’, has a book by John Logan and Brian Yorkey.
The Northern Stage run represents a homecoming for the show and its creator who grew up in the Wallsend area of the city, close to the theatre itself, which was also the place where he made his professional debut as a musician.
Originally premiered in Chicago in 2014 before moving on to Broadway, The Last Ship follows the fortunes of a group of North East shipyard workers who face up to the demise of their shipyard by joining forces to build and launch their own great ship. The show was nominated for two Tony Awards but the Broadway production closed early in 2015.
Fellow Geordie star Nail, who was lured out of retirement from acting by his friend Sting to appear in the show in the US, will return to the role of foreman Jackie White for the UK production. Further casting is to be announced at a later date.
The show has been re-worked for its debut on this side of Atlantic with changes including songs that did not appear in the Broadway production.
Angela Thomas
SHARE THIS POST:
Comments are closed.