My next show is “Titanique” at The Criterion Theatre which opened in the West End on 9th December 2024 and is currently scheduled to close on 8th June 2025. Apart from this West End run the same production is continuing its off broadway production which opened in 2022 with a new cast taking over from February 4th. The show runs for 100 minutes (one hour and Forty minutes) with no interval.
As I took my seat in the stalls row J seat 15 the auditorium was filled filled with 90s and early naughty pop classics, which set the mood very well . It was one of the very few remaining tickets when I booked earlier in the day. My main driver for seeing this show was Lauren Drew and Rob Houchen as on the face of it this show would not normally be in my wheelhouse. However I was pleasantly surprised and will explain why throughout this review.
The show as the name suggests is based on the story of the titanic and the film adaptation in particular. However with a major twist which is Celine Dion. The show starts with a tour round the titanic museum which is interrupted by Celine Dion (Lauren Drew). She explains she was on the titanic and this is how she remembers it. In this bizarre Celine Dion dream like world. We are whisked through the high level story of the titanic film. Still centring around Jack (Rob Houchen) and Rose (Kat Rooney) crescendoing with the iceberg portrayed by Layton Williams as Tina Turner. During the journey we meet the expected character s from the film including Roses fiancé Cal (Jordan Luke Gage), Roses mum Ruth (Stephen Guarino), Molly Brown (Charlotte Wakefield), The ship builder Victor Garber (Darren Bennett) his seaman (Also Layton Williams). On stage during some of Celine Dion bigger numbers she is supported by her backing singers (Adrianne Langley, Madison Swan and Rodney Vubya). Here is a quick 30 second explanation from the brilliant cast.
I don’t feel you can critique and review this show like a normal play or even WestEnd musical. Due to the fact it is unlike anything I have seen before and not in a bad way. The whole show does not take itself too seriously and this review will reflect that. The show consists of a wide mix match of cover songs which are semi shoe horned into the story some better than other. The songs include “River deep mountain high, beauty an the beast, the prayer” and of cause “My heart will go on”. A fully list of the songs can be found on the Titanique website here. Unlike a normal jukebox musical the songs in most cases did not develop the storyline. Due to the variation in songs and styles I was reminded of Moulin Rouge however much more camp. Unlike in a normal jukebox musical or even Moulin Rouge each song was a only a small snippet which for me left me wanted more of each one due to the supreme talent of each actor which I will discuss in more details later.
The staging was static and simply designed which was a simple stair design with open space within center stage, in which most of the performing was done. The stair design was flanked by the brilliant four piece band with two members on each side of the stage and on view to the audience the whole time. The stair designed was very well utilised for the famous end of the boat scene. The cast entered and exited of the scenes mainly via the auditorium which allowed for a simple static set design. I highly suggest if you are watching his show to watch is from somewhere in the stalls. As the performances start as soon as the actors enter the auditorium which can be well before their on stage appearance.
The lighting again like the staging was simple but very effective. The whole rear stage wall was effectively a light box which was able to change colours based o the song being performed. This along with the rest o the lighting design which a lot of the time illuminated the audience as well. This along with the lighting colour choices really added to the fun and camp vibe of the whole show and matched the energy form the actors perfectly.
The costume design was perfect for the show and Celine Dion dress was perfection for the attention seeking role that is was designed for. There was very limited use of props and like the staging was not needed due to the nature of the whole show. It was not a musical theatre production it was more a concert of amazing West End Musical theatre talent having a great time and bring the audience along with them.
Apart from the stand out singing performances there were a outranges about of references to modern day culture most of which I can not explain here. You have to see them in context which had my cheeks hurting due to the amount of laughing and smiling I was doing during the 100 minute show. The writing and delivery of the references and jokes were perfect. With a lot of fourth wall breaking audience sides and references were brilliant. To the point were it was almost a pantomime esc performances at times.
The whole cast were amazing which each actor being able to sing to perfection. As mentioned before some fo the cast were the reason for me seeing the show and they did not disappoint but also each actor on their own made the show worth watching.
Lauren Drew as Celine Dion is casting perfection the mannerisms to the insane vocals were spot on. The ability to insert herself into most scenes which code you timings and side looks were brilliant.
Rob Houchen also did not disappoint. His voice singing anything is mind blowing. If you haven’t heard of him or seen him before. I highly recommend searching for him on YouTube as there are some amazing performances at concerts and shows he has done. He has such a unique and amazing musical theatre voice whatever he sings is perfection.
A stand out performer for me not such much for their vocals but their performance was Stephen Guarino playing Ruth. The comedic timing and delivery of this role had almost the actors on stage corpsing. It was very much the panto dame vibe but with adult humour and had me and the rest of the theatre laughing out loud most of the time he was on stage.
Jordan Luke Gage vocals as expected were amazing and is on the rise if not already there as one of our West End young musical theatre talents.
Layton Williams showed surprisingly amazing vocals as well as the expected dancing ability. Having not seen him in “Everybody talking about Jamie” I was glad to catch him live on a West End stage.
All the actors mentioned in the synopsis at the start were amazing singers which was needed for this concert esc show. I was just gutted that each song and perofmrance did not go on longer.
Overall I give this show 4 out of 5 stars. A camp and at times panto like concert of amazing musical theatre talent wrapped around the story of the Titanic film. A show that does not take itself seriously and you shouldn’t either. It’s 100 minutes of cheek hurting fun with some great songs performed by some of our current best West End theatre performers.
More information and tickets can be purchased on the Titanique website.
A SPURDLE reviews 