The Last Ship – Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne and Touring

Marvin Ford, Michael Blair, Matt Corner, Joe Caffrey, Richard Fleeshman and Charlie Richmond in The Last Ship at Northern Stage and Touring. Picture: Pamela Raith

The Last Ship continues at Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne until 7 April 2018, then tours until 7 July.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

Before The Last Ship starts the cast inhabits the stage, greeting the audience as old friends, the band playing and some members of the ensemble add to the party atmosphere with traditional Newcastle clog dancing.

This creates an atmosphere of community; as an audience is already feel part of the lives of these characters before we have even met them. The show is ably introduced and narrated at points by Katie Moore, who also takes the role of Ellen Dawson.

The set and design by 59 Productions is magnificent. With the use of screens and projections, the world around us changes in a blink of an eye in the most beautiful and cinematic way and that, alongside Lorne Campbell’s fabulous book and direction, captures perfectly the angst and passion of an ending era. Matt Daw’s lighting and use of shadow adds to the atmosphere superbly.

The acting throughout is fabulous and although not every leading artist has a history of musical theatre they can all sing. And where there are subtle weaknesses in voice, this is far outweighed by the performance. The whole feel of the show is community and love.

The music, by Sting, is eclectic with influences from musical theatre, folk and pop/rock, from the souring, rousing ‘Last Ship’ to the reflective and questioning ‘What Say You Meg?’

Sometimes, though, it seems unsure of its own style, with elements that are reminiscent of Martin Guerre, Chicago and Carousel. Whether deliberate or not, this does work well, bringing the beautiful songs and lyrics of Sting into the world of the theatre.

Jackie and Peggy White, the yard foreman and his wife (played by Joe McGann and Charlie Hardwick) have some of the most intimate and moving scenes, very believable as husband and wife and lovely performances all round.

Richard Fleeshman plays Gideon Fletcher, and his voice is undoubtedly terrific, but a strange thing happens between his speaking voice and his singing voice. He acts in a relaxed natural North East accent, then sings in a warm American vocal, sometimes sounding Sinatra-like, and on occasion almost a vocal match to Sting himself.

The girl he left behind, Meg Dawson, is beautifully played by Frances McNamee who is fearless and feisty and has voice and ability in equal measure.

Standout performances are by Joe Caffery (as Union leader Billy Thompson), and Charlie Richmond, who plays Adrian Sanderson – both terrific vocally and theatrically.

But special mention should go to Kevin Wathen for his portrayal of drunken ship builder Davey Harrison. He is outstanding, his vocals are amazing and his performance is the highlight of the evening.

The content of the show is as raw and relevant today as it was back in the 1980s with Moore’s final rousing speech about workers and the NHS with a final cry of “Look at us…” bringing the house to its feet for a standing ovation.

John Danbury

* Look out for our exclusive video of the The Last Ship’s gala night – including an interview with Sting. COMING SOON!

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