Chris Eldon Lee reviews ‘The Last Ship’, which is at The New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham until Saturday 21st April – and then touring.
If ever there was a musical to change the world – this is it.
‘The Last Ship’ is a huge outbreak of compassion and common sense in a heartless, bottom-line society where profit is paramount, and men don’t matter. It tells two soul searching stories and packs punch after punch after punch.
One theme is the desperate fight for dignity of hundreds of ship yard men whose livelihoods are about to be swept away. Nobody wants the ship they’ve just built (ironically called ‘The Eutopia’) and they haven’t the heart to follow orders to break it up for scrap.
The other is the personal tale of a ship-builder’s son who leaves the girl he loves in search of betterment…and returns 17 years later to come face to face with a big surprise. And what is so good about this musical is that both those tried and tested themes reach fresh, liberating conclusions with spirit and conviction …whilst paying its earnest dues to the miners, the NHS and those who dare to care.
And then there’s the music…which is so good the first night audience was clapping along before the show even started.
The world will have already noticed that Sting is a mighty fine lyricist and tunesmith. And whilst you won’t hear a hit record at The Alex this week, you will hear a beautifully crafted canon of simply superb songs that effortless carry both stories along on the crest of a musical wave. There are songs of hope, regret, frustration and triumph which lay bare the soul of a proud and hardworking community. Pigeon-holing the music is, I’m delighted to say, damned difficult. The five-piece pit band is led by melodeon and fiddle … but Sting’s songs transcend all the obvious genres – of show numbers, folk rock, sea shanties and pop records – to occupy fresh territory.
“We Got Nowt Else” is a good old foot-stomping protest song (the Tyneside equivalent of a plantation spiritual perhaps) whilst “When the Last Ship Sails” is a wistfully angelic farewell, and “Ship of Dreams” touches the heart of any mortal who dares to have hopes. And with Sting himself in the stalls, there was a dead-ringer of his voice up on stage. Richard Fleeshman (as Gideon Fletcher) has Sting’s soul, phrasing and intonations. The mimicry may be unintentional; how else should one sing a Sting song? Though Joe McGann and the rest of the cast bring their own stirring style to the score.
The songs that go straight to the heart are the ones that transcend time and have characters singing duets with their younger selves. Frances McNamee (as Gideon’s old girlfriend) has the most knowing of lyrics. “When the tide goes out, you’ll find your bed is empty”, is an eternal truth in seafaring communities.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Newcastle Upon Tyne. A city that is prepared to name its bus station ‘Eldon’ is alright by me. But how, I wondered, would this show transplant to land-locked Brum? The answer is : seamlessly. For whilst it is set in a ship yard, it could be an elegy for any big industry. The arguments – delivered with searing clarity – are universal.
There is a fabulous, loyalty-tearing scene in which the riled ship builders go head to head with government minister Baroness Tynedale; a superb performance by Penelope Woodman, who is more Thatcher than Thatcher in her demeanour. The trouble is both sides make perfect sense. “These lads ARE what they do,” protests foreman Freddie. “Take away their jobs and they no longer exist.” “But the Koreans can make ships more cheaply,” comes the Thatcherite reply. “Don’t make the same mistake as the miners”, adds the yard owner’s lacky. It’s desperate, dead-end stuff. Yet the writers John Logan and Brian Yorker, and re-writer and director Lorne Campbell find a wonderfully uplifting way out of ‘the industrial bind’.
And it looks superb; grungy, muddy and rusty; but superb. The masterfully produced projections range from a fast moving, glowering sky to spiderlike overhead cranes. The waves crash over the ships bows and when the lighthouse lantern on the backcloth revolves, the light and shade on stage immaculately follow suit.
“The Last Ship” is a sweeping, monumental musical which pays close attention to the heart and soul of the human condition. If you too have a heart … or a soul…you won’t fail to be moved by it.