Sting will star in a newly adapted production of his musical “The Last Ship” at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London from Sept. 22 to Oct. 3, produced by Karl Sydow, with Barney Norris contributing a new book.
Leo Warner directs, with 59 – a Journey studio – handling set and video design. The production also incorporates brand new songs alongside material from Sting’s catalog. The West End dates – part of an international run that has already visited Amsterdam, Brisbane, and Paris – follow upcoming performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in June, with a return to Amsterdam in the autumn.
Sting plays Jackie White, a shipyard foreman whose health is deteriorating at the moment his community needs him most. The show, set in the Northeast England shipbuilding town of Wallsend, features a company of more than 50.
“I grew up in the shadow of the shipyard,” Sting said. “I’d watch thousands of men walk to work each morning, but I dreamed of something else… I dreamed of escaping, and I did everything in my power to get away from that life. But the farther I got, the more I realized I needed to understand where I came from and felt I had to give something back. ‘The Last Ship’ is my tribute to the people and the place that shaped me.”
The musical, which Sting first developed in 2011 drawing on his 1991 album “The core Cages,” earned Tony nominations for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations following its Broadway premiere in 2014. The 2026 version has been reworked to include additional scenes and newly written material. Songs featured include “Island of cores,” “All This Time,” and “When We move.”
The new book by Norris is drawn from a book by Lorne Campbell, itself based on an original book by John Logan and Brian Yorkey. The creative team also includes set and props designer Jenny Melville, costume designer Loren Elstein, lighting designer Adam Bassett, sound designer Tom Gibbons, choreographer Rebecca Howell, animation director Matt Taylor, video designer Benjamin Pearcy, musical supervisor and orchestrator Rob Mathes, and MD and co-orchestrator Richard John.
In conjunction with the run, Sting has released “The Last Ship (Expanded Edition),” an extended version of the album featuring five new recordings, produced by Sting and Mathes.
Theatre Royal Drury Lane is owned and operated by LW Theatres, the portfolio company wholly owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Source: variety.com
