REVIEW: Titanic the Musical at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking

The towering sheets of the steel frame of Titanic covered the backdrop of the New Victoria Theatre and coated the proscenium. The atmospheric lighting (designed by Howard Hudson) highlighting Mr Thomas Andrews, Titanic’s leading architect as he scrawled his designs in silence while the audience took their seats. As the music started, we were instantly transported to April 11th 1912; the day passengers embarked for Titanic’s doomed maiden voyage. Cast flooded the stage and the aisles, bringing bustling energy through the auditorium.

Good luck finding a single person who knows nothing about the Titanic and her demise. The tragedy of 1912 remains prevalent in hearts all around the world thanks to the sensational James Cameron 1999 film but this musical takes an entirely different approach. This is not the story of two lovers from different classes thrust together and torn apart in a few short days, but an epic ensemble piece with a dozen tales all woven together with beautiful delicacy. I would stress over and over again how this musical is whole-heartedly an ensemble piece; a welcomed change from the conventional casting structure we see all too often.

REVIEW: Titanic the Musical at the Mayflower, Southampton

It is 111 years since the RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton and sank a few days later on the morning of 15th April 1912 with the loss of over 1500 people. Many families in the City were affected by the event although it often remained an unspoken story in those families for years after. It is therefore very special that this musical based on the event should return to the City to start a new tour in the anniversary week of the tragedy. The emotional connection to the Southampton crew families is drawn out so clearly in the closing scenes as the rescued passengers face the list of names that lost their lives before singing a powerful reprise of the best number in the show "Godspeed Titanic". It provides a climatic conclusion to a production that in this restaging connects with the audience through its storytelling and well-acted characterisations.

The musical was written by Maury Yeston and Peter Stone and won Tony's on Broadway in 1997 but was not staged in the UK until 2013. This production started to great acclaim in the intimate venue of the Southwark Playhouse under the direction Thom Southerland and has grown in this remounting. The Mayflower stage is one of the largest outside the West End, and the sheets of metal and rivets that back the stage and proscenium arch echo the ship and frame the scenes which are mainly depicted by the lighting and some authentic-looking props and furniture. It means the scenes flow seamlessly from one to another and maintain an even pace, or perhaps even speeding up as the ship's speed is increased from 19 knots to 23 knots despite the ice warnings.