ON the face of it, it's not the most obvious of subject matter for a musical.
No jolly singalong tunes, no triumph over adversity, no riding off into the sunset to live happily ever after and certainly no joyous finale.
We know the ending and it's not pretty.
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I would put Titanic The Musical in the category of light opera and it's every bit as poignanct, dramatic and affecting as you would expect a story based on one of the world's greatest tragedies to be.
There are heroes and villains, and there are love stories in this epic show, which hits just the right note of sentimentality without being cheesy.
The audience may not have been dancing in the aisles to a medley of jukebox tunes, but they were all on their feet for one of the longest and seemingly most heartfelt standing ovations I've ever witnessed.
There were tears and a great deal of them as this Mayflower Theatre co-production returned to Southampton ten years after its first visit, and 111 years since the fateful voyage of RMS Titanic.
It features many of the familiar faces we know from the multi Academy Award winning film. Captain Edward Smith and designer Thomas Andrews are given sympathetic treatment, while White Star line director J Bruce Ismay, insisting on more speed than was safe and reducing the lifeboats, one of which he eventually climbs aboard, is the undoubted devil of the piece.
But it also gives a voice to the third class passengers dreaming of a better life in America, the second class passengers hoping to upgrade to the lifestyles of the rich and the famous, the first class passengers looking to leave a lasting legacy and the crew promising to return to Southampton triumphant following a stint on the 'unsinkable' ship.
Titanic The Musical boasts a wonderful original score and a phenomenal ensemble. When the company sings together, the sound is spine-tingling.
The austere set is impressive and the costumes are incredible.
A row of survivors bearing blankets from Carpathia, the ship that came to Titanic's rescue too late for most, stood in front of a poignant tableau bearing every name of the 1500 victims is surely one of the most moving moments in theatre.
Titanic The Musical runs until Saturday (April 15).
Tickets from mayflower.org.uk
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