Sting’s Last Ship drops anchor at city theatre
John Mccolgan and Pauraic Moyles LEGENDARY musician Sting admitted last night he was suffering opening night nerves as his play The Last Ship kicked off its Dublin run.
The former Police frontman, who lived in Connemara in the 1980s and has traced his roots back to a workhouse in Co Monaghan, said it was vital to be well-received in Ireland.
The 66-year-old told the Irish Mirror: “This is a huge theatre community, you understand theatre in your bones.
“It’s important to succeed here. It’s similar enough to make a comparison. Every night is different, every audience is different emotionally.
“You never know how it’s going to go. There’s no safety net in theatre.
“Without the danger there is no point, you need that risk.”
The Fields Of Gold hitmaker said Tuesday’s preview at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre received a standing ovation, adding: “It went down great, tonight it might not, you don’t know.” It’s been a busy few days for the star who last weekend appeared on Brendan O’carroll’s All Round To Mrs Brown’s.
But the pop legend, real name Gordon Sumner, said he had no idea what he was getting himself into as he had never watched the hit sitcom Mrs Brown’s Boys or its chat show spin-off.
He said: “I’ve never seen the show, they didn’t warn me what I was going to be in for. “Aparrently I met Mrs Brown when he was a head waiter in a restaurant in Dublin years ago. “He remembered me but I didn’t remember him. He wasn’t in character then. I thought the show was hilarious.”
The Last Ship is a heartfelt musical tribute to the star’s home town of Wallsend in Northumbria.
The star also revealed how he was forced to perform in the play in New York as it was struggling to sell tickets.
He explained: “It wasn’t something I planned to do, it’s just that I needed to do it at one point.
“I did it for two months.” With Irish Mirror’s Demelza