JIMMY NAIL PULLED OUT
Blow for production of Sting’s shipbuilding musical as it’s revealed headline star won’t be coming to Scotland
JIMMY Nail has pulled out of his pal Sting’s shipbuilding musical ahead of its run in Scotland.
The actor and musician was hailed as the star of the show when tickets for The Last Ship went on sale in October.
Sting travelled to Clydeside to launch the play due to the area’s strong shipbuilding heritage. And former Auf Wiedershen Pet and Crocodile Shoes star Nail, 63, said he’d been convinced to return to the limelight for the show by his old friend.
Nail featured in the run of The Last Ship on Broadway, excelling as the gritty and no-nonsense Geordie, Jackie White.
But it was announced yesterday that he will not be appearing in the musical when it tours the UK.
Theatre company Northern Stage revealed that his part as shipyard foreman White would now be performed by Liverpool-born actor Joe McGann.
In a statement, Nail said: “I was very much looking forward to appearing in Sting’s The Last Ship. Sadly, that’s not to be. To anyone who has purchased a ticket, please go see the show and give this vessel the launch it so deserves.
“You’ll hear some of the finest musical works ever composed for the stage.”
Karl Sydow, producer of this first UK production of the musical, said: “After protracted negotiations, carried out in good faith, we regret to announce the production’s offer of employment to Jimmy Nail has been withdrawn.
“All at The Last Ship thank him for his generosity and enormous contribution during what has been an eight-year journey.”
The play was initially inspired by Sting’s 1991 album, The Soul Cages, based around his upbringing in the shadow of the shipbuilding industry near Newcastle.
It will run at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre from June 12-16 and Glasgow’s Theatre Royal from June 18-23.