Sting’s personal, political and passionate musical The Last Ship will be docking at The Liverpool Playhouse from April 9th – 14th, 2018.

The show is an epic tale of community, hope and a great act of collective defiance which features an original score with music and lyrics by Sting.

Gideon Fletcher, a sailor, returns home from sea to discover the ship-building life he left behind in chaos. The yard is closing and no one knows what will come next. With the engine fired and pistons in motion, picket lines are drawn as foreman Jackie (Jimmy Nail) and his wife Peggy fight to hold their community together in the face of the gathering storm.

The production, which will star Jimmy Nail, has a TONY-nominated original score and lyrics composed by Sting. It will play a 4-week season in Newcastle before embarking on a major UK & Ireland Tour.

The production, which was initially inspired by Sting’s 1991 album The Soul Cages and his own childhood experiences, tells the story of a community amid the demise of the shipbuilding industry in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, with the closure of the town’s Swan Hunter shipyard.

When Gideon Fletcher returns home after fifteen years at sea, tensions between past and future flare in both his family and his town. The local shipyard, around which Wallsend has always revolved, is closing and no-one knows what will come next, only that a half-built ship towers over the terraces.

The show is directed by Lorne Campbell, the artistic director of Northern Stage, with set design by the Tony Award-winning 59 Productions.

One of the country’s most exciting and acclaimed theatre directors, Edinburgh-born Lorne Campbell had his first professional job as an assistant director at Northern Stage, before returning as artistic director in 2013. A graduate of Channel 4’s Young Theatre Director scheme, he has previously worked with the Liverpool Everyman Playhouse, Bath Theatre Royal, Traverse Theatre and Greyscale theatre company, which he co-founded. Productions for Northern Stage include Get Carter, Dr Frankenstein and A Song For Ella Grey.

This personal, political and passionate new musical from multiple Grammy Award winner Sting, is an epic account of a family, a community and a great act of defiance. With original music and lyrics by Sting, The Last Ship also features a few of his best-loved songs Island of Souls, All This Time and When We Dance.

The Last Ship ill be appearing in Liverpool as part of a National Tour And is produced by Northern Stage in association with Karl Sydow and Kathryn Schenker.

2018 TOUR DATES

ON SALE MONDAY 30 OCTOBER

Monday 12 March – Saturday 7 April
NORTHERN STAGE
northernstage.co.uk | 0191 230 5151

Monday 9 – Saturday 14 April
LIVERPOOL PLAYHOUSE
everymanplayhouse.com | 0151 709 4776

Monday 16 – Saturday 21 April
TBC

Monday 23 – Saturday 28 April
ROYAL & DERNGATE, NORTHAMPTON
royalandderngate.co.uk | 01604 624 811

Monday 30 April – Saturday 5 May
LEEDS GRAND THEATRE
leedsgrandtheatre.com | 0844 848 2700

Monday 7 – Saturday 12 May
NOTTINGHAM PLAYHOUSE
nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk | 0115 941 9419

Monday 14 – Saturday 19 May
NEW ALEXANDRA, BIRMINGHAM
atgtickets.com/Birmingham | 0844 871 7647

Monday 21 – Saturday 26 May
WALES MILLENIUM CENTRE, CARDIFF
wmc.org.uk | 029 2063 6464

Monday 28 May – Saturday 2 June
BORD GAIS ENERGY THEATRE, DUBLIN
bordgaisenergytheatre.ie | +353 1 677 7999

Monday 4 – Saturday 9 June
TBC

Monday 11 – Saturday 16 June
FESTIVAL THEATRE, EDINBURGH
edtheatres.com | 0131 529 6000

Monday 18 – Saturday 23 June
THEATRE ROYAL GLASGOW
atgtickets.com/Glasgow | 0844 871 7647

Monday 25 – Saturday 30 June
YORK THEATRE ROYAL
yorktheatreroyal.co.uk | 01904 623 568

Monday 2 – Saturday 7 July
THE LOWRY, SALFORD
thelowry.com | 0843 208 6000