Titanic: William & Mary's Story
by David Wrightam
Class Act
Parkway Cinema, Cleethorpes
Friday 30 September 2022
We all know what to expect when we are facing the story of the Titanic, the World's greatest ship in its day, considered unsinkable. And yet as everyone knows, it was not. On its maiden voyage to New York in April 1912, it hit an iceberg and sank. With too few lifeboats and never having really planned for such an event, the crew were unprepared and could not offer refuge or escape for everyone aboard and hundreds died. It's name has become synonymous with tragedy. So, it is a curious piece to bring to the stage but David Wrightam has chosen to focus on the human stories that we may not know. He writes the tales of those not necessarily remembered in the history books.
In many ways, it is a classic Romeo & Juliet story presented at the Parkway. Boy meets girl boy and girl fall in love and tragedy dictates the inevitable ending. In James Cameron's movie, it was a boy from Third Class who fell for a girl from First Class. Here it is flipped, as a girl from third class meets a boy from First Class.
We have a large cast, a signature trait of a Class Act show, which allows for a wide variety of tales to be told within any production and Titanic is no exception. Where Wrightam's writing excels, is in giving so many actors the chance to play a meaningful role in a grand tale. The interwoven stories are stitched together effectively in this version directed by Amanda Pearce and we come to care for so many of the passengers that set off for the New World and yet were unaware of the place they would occupy in history.
As always, there are many fine performances from the young performers on display in the Friday cast, and no doubt the same will have been true for the Thursday cast too. Every performer commits to their role, even those in the chorus who remain in character throughout and demonstrate maturity and excellent presence on stage.James Lusty as as the titular William and Imogen Taylor as Mary give mature performances and are credible young lovers destined, sadly, to die in each other's arms.
Each demonstrates excellent control in their performance convincing the audience of their magnetic attraction and rapidly developing commitment to their love. Lusty's privileged upper-crust William with his cut-glass pronunciation and impeccable manners is instantly drawn to the spirited young Irish girl from the lower decks. Taylor's Irish accent remains rock steady throughout and you root for their love.
Other notable performances from the cast come from Abby Reece who is incredibly strong as Bridget O' Sullivan. She demonstrates Bridget's self-confidence and feisty nature with great skill and often got many of the best lines as the script progressed. Her timing and characterisation are excellent. Her maternal nature when protecting the young and the vulnerable really gives the young actress a role to get her teeth into.
Another actress who owned her role and made it her own, was Ayla Jafri as William's strong, spirited, and independent thinking sister, Tara. Jafri has real presence, her vocal delivery is excellent and she presents a very credible character, she really deserves a bigger role in future.
Among the boys, Charlie Henderson as earnest Irish family man Connor O'Donnell committed to his role as the eldest brother and protector of all his siblings, whilst doubling as a narrator within the play. He gave a very mature perfomance and successfully avoided going over the top in his performance, which would have been very easy to do.
Jake Gray also committed to his role, which in many ways was a thankless task. He played the bullying Patrick O'Keefe who believing that he was betrothed to Mary cracked and showed his dark side as her love for William blossomed. It is hard to remain angry throughout and to menace those on stage, but Gray did it wonderfully.
So many of these promising and talented young actors deserve praise or the way they handled the material and to see those who had enjoyed lead roles the nght before offering support in the chorus tonight was inspiring and spoke volumes about the way in which Class Act teaches discipline and humility. The players are so supportive of one another and are happy to support and do what needs to be done for the sake of the production. I could mention every player here but we don't have the space.
I do want to mention the costume and design as well. The company made excellent use of the space available on stage at the Parkway and the costumes were beautiful and lavish when required, yet grubby and impoverished for those of the lower class. It was a visual feast.
The play was intense and moving and the picture of the doomed lovers embraced in their final dance made the audience wipe away the tears knowing what was coming. Congratulations to everyone involved in this production.
Andy Evans 30 September 2022