Full cast announced for Sting’s The Last Ship at Theatre Royal Drury Lane
by Best of Theatre Staff on Wednesday 12 August 2026, 10:01 am in Cast Changes and Announcements
The full cast has been announced for the West End run of The Last Ship, Sting’s newly adapted musical, which plays a limited season at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane from 22 September to 3 October. Sting performs in every show, with Declan Bennett, Frances McNamee and Jackie Morrison among the company.
The full cast has been announced for the West End run of The Last Ship, the newly adapted musical by Sting, which plays a limited season at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane from 22 September to 3 October.
Sting will perform in every performance of the run, taking the role of Jackie White, the shipyard foreman whose health is failing just as his leadership is needed most. Shaggy performs the role of The Wallsend Ferryman on 22 and 23 September only.
The company is completed by Declan Bennett as Gideon, Frances McNamee as Meg, Jackie Morrison as Peggy White, Lejaun Sheppard as The Wallsend Ferryman from 24 September to 3 October, Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong as Baroness Tynesdale, Matt Beveridge as Freddy Newlands, Joe Caffrey as Billy Thompson, Duane Gooden as Adrian, Hannah Richardson as Ellen and Adam Strong as Davey.
Lydia Boulton is Dance Captain and Llandyll Gove is Resident Director, both as swings. The ensemble and understudy cast features Olivia-Mae Baker, Matthew Gent, Helen Hill, Ediz Mahmut, Matthew McDonald, Grant Neal and Emma Thornett.
Many of the company are returning performers, having appeared this year in Amsterdam, Paris, Brisbane and New York, while Frances McNamee and Jackie Morrison were in the original UK and USA tour cast. The same cast will also perform at the Royal Theater Carré in Amsterdam when The Last Ship returns there from 29 August to 13 September.
Sting said: “What a great mix of returning and new performers we have for the London run! With just 6 weeks to go until our West End premiere, I’m really looking forward to working with everyone and finally sharing The Last Ship with audiences at Theatre Royal Drury Lane.”
Set in the shipbuilding town of Wallsend, The Last Ship tells the moving story of a community of shipbuilders in the North East of England faced with the closure of their shipyard — the heart of their existence. Sting’s songs, among them Island of Souls, All This Time and When We Dance, are woven into the performance.
“I grew up in the shadow of the shipyard,” said Sting. “I’d watch thousands of men walk to work each morning, but I dreamed of something else… I dreamed of escaping, and I did everything in my power to get away from that life. But the farther I got, the more I realized I needed to understand where I came from and felt I had to give something back. The Last Ship is my tribute to the people and the place that shaped me.”
This new staging features new songs and a new book by Barney Norris. It is produced by Karl Sydow and directed by Leo Warner, with set and video design by 59, a Journey studio. The gala and press night is on 23 September.