Titanique
While the RMS Titanic proved to be all too sinkable, this titanically camp musical spoof of the James Cameron film should sail on for quite some time. Or at least it will if its manifest target audience – unsubtly shouted out to as ‘gays’ at least twice during the show – is as enthusiastic for it here as in New York, where it’s been sitting pretty off-Broadway since 2022.
Devised by Tye Blue (who also directs), Marla Mindelle, and Constantine Rousouli, Titanique is basically a cabaret-style parody that marries the considerable kitsch appeal of the 1997 film with that of its true star – Quebecois singing icon Celine Dion, forever associated with the movie thanks to ubiquitous power ballad My Heart Will Go On.
The show’s undoubted masterstroke is making Dion the main character. Although clearly standing on the shoulders of previous US performers, Lauren Drew is sublime as the Canadian chanteuse. Ostensibly here to tell us the story of the sinking from her perspective, Drew’s spangly whirlwind perfectly captures the real Dion’s peculiar mix of old-fashioned showbiz cheese, mad aunty dottiness and weapons-grade lung power, while less realistically painting her as a delusional (albeit affable) narcissist who genuinely believes she was on la Titanique.
Early on I felt a bit iffy over whether this was entirely appropriate given Dion’s recent health problems - does it feel cruel to parody a version of her that we probably won’t see again? But ultimately it’s an affectionate,...