SOUTHAMPTON, U.K. — Halfway through its “maiden voyage” — opening night for a 10-night run at the Mayflower Theatre April 12-21 — the production of Titanic the Musical had to be halted when, just as the ship hit the iceberg in the show, plaster from a backstage wall fell to the stage.
Although the show was halted as a precaution, investigators found no major structural issues, and the production continued the next night as scheduled.
“You couldn’t make it up,” associate producer Michael Ockwell told the BBC. “The irony isn’t lost on us.”
The actual ship embarked on its maiden voyage from Southampton on April 10, 1912 and struck the iceberg in the early hours of April 15; more than 1,500 of the 2,224 aboard perished.
“It was a fantastic show — it was so disappointing,” said one audience member quoted in the BBC report. Ticketholders were offered refunds or exchanges to the Tony award-winning musical, which debuted on Broadway in 1997.
The April 12-20 run included a midnight performance on April 14 to coincide with the anniversary of the date the actual ship hit the iceberg 106 years ago.
