North P&I Club Sponsors the UK Premier of 'The Last Ship' at Northern Stage
North P&I Club has today announced its sponsorship of the Northern Stage’s production of ‘The Last Ship’.
In its UK premiere, Sting’s personal, political and passionate musical comes home to Newcastle, in an epic tale of community, hope and a great act of collective defiance. The casting of Joe McGann (Jackie White), Charlie Hardwick (Peggy White), Richard Fleeshman (Gideon Fletcher) and Frances McNamee (Meg Dawson) has today been announced.
The Last Ship tells the story of a ship-building town and its people. Gideon Fletcher, a sailor, returns home from half a lifetime at 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 White and his wife Peggy fight to hold their community together in the face of the gathering storm.
Commenting on the sponsorship, Paul Jennings, Joint Managing Director at North P&I Club said: “Northern Stage is one of the main cultural centres in Newcastle and their production of Sting’s ‘The Last Ship’ has a strong historical resonance for North. As a leading mutual marine insurance group, North has provided commercial shipping insurance since we were founded in Newcastle in 1860. We’ve also been very impressed by the way Northern Stage outreach programmes engage with local communities and young people across the region and we hope this sponsorship will be the catalyst for more local businesses to support Northern Stage.”
Commenting on the sponsorship, Lorne Campbell, Artistic Director at Northern Stage said: “North’s sponsorship of our production of The Last Ship is wonderful news. This will be the UK premiere of the production and a national tour is planned after the Newcastle run concludes. The musical, written by Sting has broken box office records at Northern Stage as it plays on the North East’s rich maritime history and has a very strong connection to North’s business. North’s sponsorship will contribute substantially to Northern Stage’s charitable work in the North East. Specifically, the funding will be allocated to our local talent development and community support programmes which are active in communities across the North East region.”
The Last Ship runs from Monday 12 March to Saturday 7 April 2018 and tickets are available from: www.northernstage.co.uk.
ENDS
For further information contact: Kim Heaselden on +44 191 232 5221 / kim.heaselden@nepia.com
Notes to editors
North P&I Club is a leading global marine insurer providing P&I, FD&D, war risks and ancillary insurance to 140 million GT of owned tonnage. Through its guaranteed subsidiary Sunderland Marine, North is also a leading insurer of fishing vessels, small craft and aquaculture risks. The Standard and Poor’s ‘A’ rated Club is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK with regional offices and subsidiaries in China (Hong Kong and Shanghai), Greece, Japan, Singapore and Sunderland Marine offices worldwide. North is a leading member of the International Group of P&I Clubs (IG), with over 12% of the IG’s owned tonnage. The 13 IG clubs provide liability cover for approximately 90% of the world’s ocean-going tonnage and, as a member of the IG, North protects and promotes the interests of the international shipping industry. For further information visit: www.nepia.com
1. Northern Stage, in Newcastle, makes ambitious, intelligent, enjoyable theatre. The company has a reputation for reviving classic plays in fresh adaptations and creating bold new work. It has been one of the UK’s most popular national touring companies for the last 20 years. Alongside its own work, Northern Stage presents the best regional, national and international theatre. Its extensive Creative Residencies programme supports local and national theatre-makers to develop their work at Northern Stage and a year-round programme of projects and events encourages people of all ages and backgrounds to take part in making theatre. Northern Stage also hosts a venue at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, presenting some of the most interesting theatre from across the north of England. northernstage.co.uk
2. The Last Ship is to premiere in the UK when it opens at Northern Stage in Newcastle on 12 March 2018. It will play a 4-week season in Newcastle before embarking on a major UK & Ireland Tour. 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 TONY award winning 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 show is directed by Lorne Campbell, the artistic director of Northern Stage, with set design by the Tony Award-winning 59 Productions.
The Last Ship is produced by Northern Stage in association with Karl Sydow and Kathryn Schenker.