James Cameron's bloated cinematic epic returns in 3D to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic this month. So director John Plews and his Ovation theatre company show considerable chutzpah in launching this smaller vessel, a new play by local writer Chris Burgess following the real-life experiences of 11 passengers on the ship's ill-fated maiden voyage.
The theatrical challenges of depicting the foundering of the oversized steamship are obvious, and few playwrights have risen to them. Burgess focuses, rightly, on a series of short scenes taking place around the ship, from the first-class upper deck to the crow's nest; set designer James Lewis has done wonders with a few railings and a porthole in the small space.
The second act, showing the passengers' desperate evacuation, is particularly effective: two lifeboats face the audience, enabling the actors to observe the sinking ship as if off-stage. Rosalind Blessed is outstanding as the deliciously vulgar socialite Margaret Brown, and the script offers some nice touches.
So it's a shame that the play is marred both by glaring anachronisms – it's hard to believe that an Irish stewardess in 1912 would have expressed her frustration with her boyfriend with the teenage “yeah, yeah, yeah” – and, on the night I saw it, by several unfortunate technical hitches.