Camp and chaotic musical burlesque of the movie Titanic that hits all the right notes
Whatever you think of James Cameron’s multi-award-winning 1997 movie Titanic, its impact on a whole generation cannot be underestimated. Its epic scale, coupled with the intimacy of its central, fictional love story, proved irresistible, matched by the power-ballad title song My Heart Will Go On, sung by Canadian vocalist Céline Dion. For this musical, authors Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli and Tye Blue allow a fictional Dion to hijack the plot of Cameron’s movie and tell the story how she sees it. Directed by Blue, the show opened in LA in 2017, with an Off-Broadway transfer in 2022 winning several awards and critical acclaim. This UK production, with a few additional British references, is again directed by Blue and choreographed by Ellenore Scott, and captures the madness and mayhem of the original.
At a museum of Titanic artefacts, the visitors are stunned and delighted that Céline Dion has appeared to reveal her version of events. It turns out that she was on board that fateful maiden voyage, and a back catalogue of her biggest musical numbers provides a soundtrack to the ill-fated romance of transient artist Jack Dawson and impoverished aristocrat Rose DeWitt Bukater. The book affectionately lampoons many aspects of the movie, and the authors present a cheerfully amplified version of Dion, brought to vivid life by a vivacious Lauren Drew. Head to heels in silver sequins, sporting a convincing blonde wig and slightly less convincing French-Canadian accent, Drew is the powerhouse that drives the show.
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Drew’s Dion ramps up the camp a few notches with every musical number – Tell Him, Beauty and the Beast, To Love You More – insinuating the diva into every scene. The show plays out like an extended Saturday Night Live sketch, and occasionally threatens to outstay its welcome. It is saved, however, by madcap character twists, an improvisational approach to the comedy and some fantastic voices.
Kat Ronney as Rose and Rob Houchen as Jack negotiate the broad, ridiculous romance with slick comedy timing. They are out-camped by Jordan Luke Gage’s sulking rich boy Cal and a hysterically deranged Ruth, Rose’s mother, played with psychotic precision by Stephen Guarino. As the Seaman, it briefly looks as though Layton Williams will be underused, but when he eventually manifests as a rip-roaring River Deep, Mountain High Iceberg, his casting and performance prove sublime.
There’s little to disguise the fact that this is essentially a fringe show, from its tinsel-and-sequin Heart of the Ocean motif hanging above the stage to Alejo Vietti’s dressing-up box approach to the costume design. But it’s relentlessly funny, sitting comfortably in a West End dotted with fringe shows that have found and maintained a larger audience.
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