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| Jimmy Nail and Sting Photo Credit Mark Savage |
THE LAST SHIP
TO MAKE UK PREMIERE IN NEWCASTLE
Jimmy Nail to star in Sting’s debut musical
Opens 12 March 2018 at Northern Stage, ahead of UK &
Ireland Tour
The Last Ship–the acclaimed musical by the internationally
renowned musician Sting–is to premiere in the UK when it opens at Northern
Stage in Newcastle on 12 March 2018.
The production, which will star Jimmy Nail, 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 production, 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 Wallsend, Tyne and
Wear, with the closure of the town's shipyard.
When Gideon Fletcher returns home after seventeen years at
sea, tensions between past and future flare in both his family and his town.
The local shipyard, around which Wallsend has always revolved, is closing and
no-one knows what will come next, only that a half-built ship towers over the
terraces.
The show is directed by Lorne Campbell, the artistic director
of Northern Stage, with set design by the Tony Award-winning 59 Productions.
One of the country’s most exciting and acclaimed theatre
directors, Edinburgh-born Lorne Campbell had his first professional job as an
assistant director at Northern Stage, before returning as artistic director in
2013. A graduate of Channel 4’s Young Theatre Director scheme, he has
previously worked with the Liverpool Everyman Playhouse, Bath Theatre Royal,
Traverse Theatre and Greyscale theatre company, which he co-founded.
Productions for Northern Stage include Get Carter, Dr Frankenstein and A Song
For Ella Grey.
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| Lorne Campbell, Sting and Jimmy Nail Photo Credit Mark Savage |
This personal, political and passionate new musical from
multiple Grammy Award winner Sting, is an epic account of a family, a community
and a great act of defiance. With original music and lyrics by Sting,
The Last Ship also features a few of his best-loved songs
Island of Souls, All This Time and When We Dance.
This is the proud story of when the last ship sails.
Further casting to be announced.
The Last Ship is produced by Northern Stage in association
with Karl Sydow and Kathryn Schenker.
