Live Review: Sting’s The Last Ship @ The Glasshouse Theatre, Brisbane

Sting

The Last Ship has dropped its anchor in Brisbane for its exclusive Australia season, opening on Saturday night at Brisbane’s new Glasshouse Theatre at Queensland Performing Arts Centre. The musical is written, composed by, and stars Sting, the 17-time Grammy Award-winning artist known worldwide for his solo career and as the frontman of the English rock outfit The Police. 

The Last Ship is a story you might have heard before: the decline of a blue-collar community unable to untangle their work from their identity, with legacy and dignity extinguished in favour of neoliberalism. Although this is not just a story for Sting, who wrote and performed on The Last Ship, it’s a semi-autobiographical work reflecting the harsh hand his Wallsend origins faced under the Thatcher reign.

Speaking to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre about the musical, Sting said, “These songs are my own personal debt to the community that raised me, the community that gave me an identity, a work ethic and a sense of social justice that has sustained me through a long career in a world where it is too easy to lose one’s bearings.”

Sting’s character, Jackie White, is the soul of the community and the driving force behind fighting against the changes happening in their town. Battling his own health issues on top of the weight of this responsibility, Jackie essentially sacrifices his life for the cause. 

It’s hard to choose a favourite among the 24 songs performed, but some stood out for their unique Sting qualities. And Yet was one of the first songs on stage, with lyrics wrestling with whether to stay or go, and how to embrace change.

If You Ever See Me Talking to a Sailor was a fun song, accompanied by tight choreography with men pitted against women who were tired of the unpredictable nature of seamen. The Last Ship was a compelling performance that marked the final song before intermission, with Sting delivering rousing vocals that got his workers on side to stand up to the powers that be. 

The producer of the show, Karl Sydow, has an extensive call sheet of global productions, including starting the worldwide production of Dirty Dancing in 2004. Sydow and Sting have been working on The Last Ship for ten years, and this iteration features new songs, a new set and a new direction.

Impressively, Sydow was in attendance at the opening night in Brisbane, which is no easy feat given his ongoing projects, including franchising new musicals and building a new theatre in London’s West End.

The audience was a mixed bag, as you would expect, with Sting's illustrious career selling more than 100 million albums over the course of his career, and his recognisable voice undeniably touching so many lives. The show sailed into Paris in January for a two-week tour, then headed to Amsterdam and now Brisbane, where it will run until May 3, before starting in New York.

Securing a residency like this with Sting is an enormous coup for Brisbane, not to mention the Glasshouse Theatre’s opening program, with the striking four-story glass space having opened in March of this year. 

Sting was not the only globally renowned artist on stage, with two-time Grammy Award winner Shaggy cast as the Wallsend Ferryman. His presence on stage was like a pseudo-narrator, and there were a few chances to hear him sing, switching between his reggae sound and recitative singing.

Of course, this is not the first time Sting and Shaggy have collaborated, with the duo releasing a reggae album together in 2018, 44/876, which went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album in 2019, and performing together at the Reggae Rose Up Festival. It’s reported that the duo have bonded over their mutual love of English rock and have also been known to holiday together and show up at each other's shows to perform spontaneously. 

A large part of the magic on Saturday night was due to the incredible set design and video, mastered by 59 Designs, who have been responsible for a number of immersive and clever experiences for musicals and even album launch experiences like Ed Sheeran’s Play launch.

The backdrop of the 2-hour 50-minute production was a large ship's bow, with the sun reflecting off the black steel and large ladders leaning against the structure, depicting a not-yet-complete ship about to be shut down and privatised. It was satisfying to see, in the final sequence, the ship slowly turn, launch from the dock, and head out to sea as the curtains were drawn.

Those in the audience there to sneak a peek at Sting and hear his music were not disappointed with tracks like Island of Souls, All This Time, and When We Dance interwoven into the storyline. The music was made more impactful with the support of 48 artists, musicians, and choirists paying homage to these timeless songs. Additionally, Sting attended the Glasshouse Theatre afterparty alongside the talented cast, meeting and taking photos with some lucky theatre goers.

Tickets are still available for Sting’s The Last Ship, with shows every day until its final performance on May 3.