Death Ship 666!

For those of us who grew up when Titanic was a major box office
hit, the spoof of this classic film – and the refrain of its theme
song “my heart will go on” – is bound to be a nostalgic and enjoyable
experience.

Death Ship 666 tells the tale of a maiden voyage to the Bermuda
Triangle. Among those we meet boarding the ship is Grandma who,
despite what her name might suggest, is actually in her 20s. She is
married to John, an evil genius schemer, who has plans for the ship’s
destruction.

Other characters aboard include a rich couple, a handsome architect
and a 10 year old detective called Holly Hobby who keeps a close eye
on any criminal activity that might be going on (of which there is a
great deal).

Early on it becomes clear that something is seriously awry aboard the
ship: the mechanics seem all wrong, Some of those on board clearly
have malevolent intentions, the captain is as mad as a box of spanners
and there have been reported bear sightings. Amid all the chaos
Grandma falls madly in love with the dashing architect in scenes that
mirror closely Jack and Rose’s (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet)
epic romance.

The play’s writers – Michael Patrick, Gemma Hurley and Paul Clarkson –
do a good job of parodying some of the movie’s most memorable scenes.

The play, which was originally a successful Edinburgh fringe show,
portrays its main characters desperately trying to cope with
everything this crazy voyage has to throw at them, including icebergs,
ferocious bears and bombs.

As is the nature of parody, the plot is not original, but the spin
that the writers have put on the Titanic story are innovative and
genuinely comic. The writers have also thrown in some other features
not in the original for good measure.

The show is funny and smart, finding real comedy in what is really
quite a dark storyline. Some of the jokes are perhaps a bit obvious
but they are delivered with great comic timing and the musical numbers
are very well staged and performed. The cast is well chosen with
Rachel Parris as Grandma giving a particularly entertaining
performance and Mattias Penman as the handsome
architect is impressive with some of his witty one-liners.

Some characters are weaker than others though, and some of the scenes
and jokes tend to become a bit repetitive. The play often moves from
the sublime to the ridiculous but, as nights at the theatre go, the
fun of this production is that it is silly and ridiculous and it
doesn’t seem to care and neither does the audience.