Everyman, Cheltenham – until Saturday 17 June 2023
5*****
A return visit to Titanic, this time at The Everyman in Cheltenham. Still hauntingly beautiful, still poignant and still incredibly sad, Titanic remains my favourite musical of all time. Maury Yeston’s immaculate score tells the story of the doomed maiden voyage of the ship of dreams.
We meet the characters who make the show so perfect. The owner J.Bruce Ismay (Martin Allinson), the designer Thomas Andrews (Ian McLarnon) and Captain Edward Smith (Graham Bickley). The crew: Officers Murdoch (Billy Roberts) and Lightoller (Jack North), Wireless Operator Bride (Alastair Hill), Bell Boy Edward (Joseph Peacock), Stoker Barrett (Adam Filipe) and First Class Steward Henry Etches (Barnaby Hughes). And the passengers: Isador and Ida Straus (David Delve and Valda Aviks) in first class. In second class, Alice and Edgar Beane (Bree Smith and James Darch) and Lady Caroline Neville and Charles Clarke (Emma Harrold and Matthew McDonald). And in third class the Kates (Emily George, Niamh Long and Lucie Mae-Sumner) and Jim Farrell (Chris Farrell). All of the 25 ensemble play multiple characters of crying crew and passengers.
In the first act, we lead up to the disaster, the owner trying to impress the guests and get the boat to sail faster, the designer who errs on the side of caution and the Captain stuck between them both. We follow the stories of everyone on board, investing in Peter Stone’s intricately written characters and in the second act we root for them to survive.
When “all” the women and children have got on the lifeboats and the men remain, knowing the futility of what is about to happen our heart breaks. When the husbands reassure their wives to go without them because they’ll collect them in the morning, it’s hard to imagine. Would I be brave enough to get into a lifeboat into the unknown, leaving behind my husband of over 30 years or would I want to stop with him, together to the end?
There were quite a few understudies tonight, so apologies to anyone misnamed. But this only reinforces what a versatile and talented ensemble they are.
Yeston’s music is sensationally executed by the live band (Thomas Leate, Bridget Mansfield, Gemma Connor, Jack Cherry and Craig Apps) led by Musical Director Ben Papworth. David Woodhead’s set and costume designs are first-class. Danielle Tarento has produced a thing of beauty