★★★

Reviewer - Penny

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review.

Titanic is embarking on its tenth-anniversary tour, starting with a short run at Bromley’s Churchill Theatre. The show first opened on Broadway in 1997 – coincidentally the same year that gave us James Cameron’s film adaptation of the tragic story – and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Titanic’s characters are based on the real-life passengers and crew of the ill-fated ship. It’s a story that we know won’t end well, over 1500 people lost their lives in one of the biggest disasters of the 20th century. So, the subject matter presents a challenge to all involved – to tell these stories in a way that doesn’t diminish that loss but still manages to keep audiences entertained and engaged.

Titanic is an ensemble show and this is both its greatest strength but also its greatest weakness. When the company sings together, the sound is phenomenal, producing a wall of sound equal to the giant proportions of the eponymous ship. It’s in these numbers that the score is strongest as the majority of this mostly sung-through score is not particularly memorable, and the standard of solo singing was not always up to the ensemble work.

With so many characters in the ensemble – covering Crew, First, Second and Third Class passengers – there are too many stories to tell to give the time to really get to know any of the characters enough to be fully engaged with them. The passengers are largely kept isolated in their couples with very little meaningful interaction with each other. Various duets feel a little shoe-horned in and don’t add to the plot.

The exceptions to this are when the show works best, particularly in scenes involving Steward Henry Etches, thoughtfully played by a fine voiced Barnaby Hughes. His position on the Titanic gives him the freedom to mix with all of the characters – without the restrictions of a passenger class status - and I wish we had seen more of him bringing out the humanity of the people he serves as it gave us much more rounded performances. This was most notable in Etches’ short but poignant scene with First Class passengers Ida and Isidor Strauss, played with real charm and heart by Valda Aviks and David Delve. This was the only First Class couple to have any proper development and that came in the second act, I wish we had been given the opportunity to get to know them earlier.

Another highlight is a brief visit to the Third Class passengers, singing of their hopes for a better life when they reach America in the song “Lady’s Maid”. Playing Kate McGowan, Lucie-Mae Summer stands out whenever she’s on stage with beautiful, clear singing and bringing her character to life with strong and sassy acting. There was clearly a lot more to Kate’s back story than we were shown, and I would have much preferred to see more of her than some of the other characters.

Class is a major theme of the show – from the varying levels of luxury enjoyed by passengers to the order in which evacuation is coldly prioritised. The Second Class passengers are the ones seen to be bridging the class gap – Alice (Bree Smith) wants to be a social climber while Lady Caroline has left the First Class luxury to marry beneath her. Playing Caroline, Emma Harrold had perfect diction and a beautiful singing voice in a frustratingly underwritten role.

There’s also a class structure amongst the crew – broken down in a touching duet between Stoker Frederick Barrett, played by Adam Filipe with outstanding vocals and strong leading man energy, and the socially awkward Wireless Officer, Harold Bride – a sensitive performance from Alastair Hill.

As the show moves towards its inevitably tragic conclusion, the staging is symbolic rather than giving graphic detail of events. We see the crew’s stoic acceptance of what is to come rather than distressing scenes of panic. The actual sinking of the ship is very well done, with David Woodhead’s set, which has been mostly static up to this point, defying gravity to show us the Titanic’s final moments. Leaving the detail to the audience’s imagination is very effective. This leads to a very moving moment with the survivors breaking the fourth wall to address the audience.

This is indeed a titanic production, and while there are some touching moments and impressive performances, overall it feels as if – much like on the ill fated ship itself – this production is trying to do too much within the constraints of its running time. It is not a show that will leave you feeling uplifted as you walk away from the theatre singing catchy and memorable tunes, but it does draw you into the tragic story without sensationalism or exploitation, even if it does leave you wanting a little more from it.