Sting and Shaggy Take The Last Ship to Brisbane

Sting, now 74 and the holder of 17 Grammys, is performing a leading role in a renewed version of his musical The Last Ship, currently playing at the Glasshouse Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, as part of an international tour.

The superstar plays foreman Jackie White, a man navigating the threat of his shipyard's closure while grappling with his failing health. He is joined on stage by reggae icon Shaggy, who brings warmth to the production as the Wallsend Ferryman, a figure who watches over Jackie.

The production draws directly on Sting's own biography. When he says he grew up in the shadow of a shipyard, he means it literally. At the end of his street in Wallsend, northern England, the Swan Hunter factory dominated the skyline. Each day thousands of workers filed past his house to labour on ships so big they obscured the sun.

A royal visit sparked a childhood epiphany for the future star. Watching the Queen Mother drive past in a black Rolls-Royce, Sting decided he didn't want a life in the belly of a metal beast. He wanted something bigger. He would find it first as the magnetic frontman of the Police, then as a solo artist.

Now, decades later, he has returned to the shipyard — this time in Australia, bringing the renewed version of The Last Ship to Brisbane audiences as the production embarks on its international tour.