In an Australian exclusive, 17-time Grammy Award winner Sting will take the stage in his own musical The Last Ship at Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s (QPAC) Glasshouse Theatre from 9 April to 3 May 2026.

Inspired by Sting’s 1991 album The Soul Cages and rooted in his childhood in the British shipbuilding town of Wallsend in England’s North East, it tells the story of a community facing the closure of its shipyard.

Sting will play Jackie, the ailing foreman who must rally his workers during their darkest hour.

Sting. Portrait © Manon van der Zwaal

I grew up in the shadow of the shipyard,” says Sting. “My father wanted me to follow him into the shipyard, 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 realised 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.”

The show features 28 performers, musicians and choristers. Originally premiering in Chicago...