Theatre Review: Titanic, The Musical at The Alhambra

Disaster struck Bradford in style as Titanic: The Musical, stopped at The Alhambra where Leo Owen caught the show as part of its international tour

You’d be forgiven for assuming the worst on discovering there’s a musical based upon arguably the most notorious maritime disaster, one that tragically claimed the lives of 1,517 passengers and crew. As a genre, musicals generally conjure images of smiley folk singing and dancing as one feelgood tune blurs into the next.

Maury Yeston and Peter Stone’s musical thankfully doesn’t try to fit this mould, instead poignantly exploring the hopes and dreams of all on board the ship while accurately presenting the shocking facts of Titanic’s doomed maiden voyage without ever lacking taste or becoming overly sentimental.

Opening on a dark misty boat deck with two tiers and an upper steel handrailed walkway, writer Stone places the action towards the end of the story with shouting, screaming and loud dramatic music. The chaos disperses to the ship’s crew proudly looking at plans, accompanied by hopeful string instrumentals, while above handsomely-dressed passengers stand. By cleverly juxtaposing the ship’s dramatic end with the high expectations shared pre-voyage, Stone emphasises the sense of impending calamity and heightens the dramatic irony that laces so many of Yeston’s lyrics.

David Woodhead’s set is simple but cleverly recreates the enormity of the liner’s dimensions with huge steel panels forming the walkway’s backdrop like the thousands of sheets used to construct The Titanic. While additional props on stage act as the ship’s interior, auditorium aisles represent land with cast clambering on “board”. Lyrics helps conjure details about the boat’s design while the upper walkway is later used to visually represent the boat sinking.

Class divide, a central theme throughout the show, is perfectly captured by the gossip of Stone’s characters, personal monologues, flitting between alternate character conversations and the use of levels. Director Thom Southerland ingeniously places fire stoker Fred (Joel Parnis) on top of a table to sing as it’s set for first class passengers seven floors above him. As panic later ensues once the boat takes on water, the men most responsible fret below deck while couples dance on oblivious to their fate. The idea of blame and responsibility is of course central to the story with fault being credited to the competitive Mr Ismay (Simon Green) of the White Star Line, the arrogant Captain Edward John Smith (Philip Rham) and Designer Mr Andrews (Greg Costiglioni), culminating in the fraught song “Blame”.

While the blameful trio are presented in a particularly negative light, stoker Fred, bellboy Wallace Hartley (Lewis Cornay), first class steward Mr Etches (Matthew McKenna) and first-class passengers, Isidor (Dudley Rogers) and Ida (Judith Street) Straus are endearing characters.

Particularly rousing songs come in the form of “Fare Thee Well” with it echoing the sentiments of WW1 soldiers entirely unaware of their fate and brimming with excitement and optimism (“I’ll be back before a fortnight is passed…”); the beautiful harmonies and catches of “No Moon” gradually building into an oppressive, powerful and menacing chorus and the heart-felt emotion of “We’ll Meet Tomorrow” as the men wave off loved ones.

For a show so deserving of the standing ovation its ensemble received, it’s perhaps surprising it seems relatively unknown, especially considering its Broadway release pre-dated the soppy 1997 James Cameron blockbuster and resulted in five Tony Awards. While it may lack resonating stand-out tunes, vocals/performances are faultless, the set impressive and the play’s structure intelligently crafted. By personalising the story through placing its focus on various couples and individuals of different class and background, Titanic: The Musical is a touching and fitting memorial to those who lost their lives while reminding us of the dangers of hubris.

Titanic: The Musical showed at The Alhambra July 24-28 before continuing its tour: http://www.titanicthemusical.co.uk/ .