Sting Archives - North West End UK

There is a compelling musical somewhere inside ‘The Last Ship’. Its story of a Wallsend shipbuilding community facing the closure of its yard has all the ingredients for a powerful night of theatre, threatened livelihoods, fierce loyalty and the question of what remains when the work that defines a place disappears. Yet, despite its ambition and considerable scale, this production at Theatre Royal Drury Lane left us admiring what we could see far more than we cared about what happened. Visually, it is remarkable, stunning in fact. Jenny Melville’s immense set makes imaginative use of the theatre’s vast stage, establishing the shipyard as both a workplace and the centre of a community’s identity, dominated by the constant presence of the massive ship, Utopia. Adam Bassett’s lighting give...

This is a confusing and poorly constructed play. According to the publicity and the programme it is about witchcraft and how persecution of women through the ages has led to the current appalling levels of domestic abuse. That sounds intriguing, but the play lost its way several times. Photo: Helen-Murray It starts in an archive where archivist Lily, played by Phoebe Ladenburg works, although there was not much evidence of that on her empty desk. Enter her new assistant the effervescent Ash (Adelle Leonce), dressed and hung over from a wild night out at a nightclub. Despite appearing to be totally unsuitable for a role in the archive she is actually a very bright individual with a considerable knowledge of the history of witchcraft. She has, however, a dark personal history. Ne...

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The Last Ship – Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Sting – Young Vic