Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating *****

Cast: Nicola Bentley, Nick Birkinshaw, Laura Campbell, Brian Dodd, Christopher Hollinshead, Brendan Ball, Louise Bennett, Bill McGarry, Barry Powell, Jean Silcock, Okechukwu Ugonna, Stephen Wooder, Barbara Whitehead.

One hundred years on from its fateful maiden voyage, the Titanic, the greatest ship that the world had ever known, still has the power to enthral, educate and leave people stunned and shattered by what they learn.

Treasured at the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral is one of those very rare nights where a theatrical event can leave you feeling spent of any emotion. Such is the power and intensity of the narrative, the sheer weight of history that comes bearing down as you witness the fate of some of the passengers on that fateful cold night in April 1912; that to see the actors on stage, hear the voices transcending through time and finally the overwhelming and yet incredibly beautiful images that are projected on the walls of the iconic Cathedral is enough to make you feel as if you have witnessed history devastatingly at first hand.

From the moment the audience enters the imposing gothic Cathedral, the feeling of something different hits the seated area and the walk ways surrounding the stage. Voices are heard, the noise of the shipyard and of men working their fingers to the bone but taking great pride in their achievement comes across the stage and throughout it all the sense of history and fate begins to take shape.

Created by Jen Heyes, Treasured really could not have fitted in anywhere else so perfectly as the Anglican Cathedral, the combining of two important man-made structures, both immense in their scale and how they would have been seen from the river was perfect. What made it so perfect though was the space allowed the images free reign to wash over the senses of those assembled. The image of the Titanic speeding onward as the sea rushes towards the audience and as the ship seemed to go over the top of them the sea enveloped them and took them down.

Incredible imagery, superbly narrated and with a cast that lived the moment, this really was one of the most outstanding pieces of theatre ever conceived.

Ian D. Hall