Sting reveals top directors want to turn The Last Ship musical into a movie
Sting plays the role of Jackie White
Last updated 27th Aug 2026
'Fields of Gold' singer Sting joined Simon Mayo on Greatest Hits Radio to talk about his musical The Last Ship, and his plans for the future. The Last Ship, a musical inspired by Sting's experiences as a child, has been touring the world and is set to have a limited run in London at Theatre Royal Drury Lane from 22nd September until 3rd October 2026.
Along with touring the world with his band, the singer has made time to play the lead role of Jackie White in his musical, and opened up to Simon Mayo about the growing up in the North East of England.
What is the inspiration behind The Last Ship?
The Last Ship was first developed in 2011, and is inspired by Sting's album called 'The Soul Cages'. The singer opened up to Simon further about the musical revealing: "‘Soul Cages’ was really an album written in 1990 after my parents died and I went back to my hometown and decided I would write an elegy for where I was brought up."
He continued: "And that was the seed really that became The Last Ship. I was born next to a shipyard and the demise of our shipyard was a kind of a metaphor really for what happened to my parents.
"And so I wrote this album that was basically mourning I suppose. But here I am many years later with a play in London and I'm deeply proud of it and it's about my hometown.
"It's really a thank you to the community that raised me."
Sting went on to reveal more about what the audience can expect, explaining: "They see what I saw as a kid. You know, I was born right next to the shipyard, the end of my street, most of the year was a gigantic ship.
"Some of the largest ships ever built in the world were built at the end of my street. So as a kid, I'd look up, blocking out the sun with this massive ship.
"And that's what we have on the stage, like a god, like a threatening god over the street. And it's a wonderful sight, and then we launch it, which is quite something."
What role does Sting play?
Sting also opened up about the role he plays in the musical - Jackie White. He told Simon: "Jackie White is an amalgam of people that I knew. One of them was my dad, my grandad, a lot of people in my street worked in the shipyard.
"So he's a combination of those people, he's the foreman of the yard. He wants to keep things as they are."
He went on to explain: "He's always trying to balance the relationship between the unions and the management and the government. And he just wants things to remain as they are.
"But eventually in the play, he realises he's been betrayed. And that's the story.
"He basically conjures up an act of defiance in the face of government opposition and they take over the shipyard, finish a ship that they already started and they launch it.
"And within that there's a love story and some great songs by a famous Geordie songwriter. But it's an entertaining, emotional evening, especially for me."
READ MORE: Sting's career highlights from The Police to multi award-winning solo artist
Could there be a film of the musical?
The Last Ship has been a successful musical, but could Sting be tempted to turn it into a film? Well it turns out he's actually already received some interest from some very well-known film directors.
"Well," Sting began, speaking about the idea of a film. "Spike Lee suggested that to me, and so did Steven Spielberg, so you never know..."
He went on to say: "I said I'd get back to them." So when Simon asked: "So they're waiting for you?" He admitted: "Yeah."
Continuing: "I think films take a long time to organise, but there are certainly two people who are in the mix and I'd love to make a film of it. Whether I'm in it or not is another matter, you know, but that would be a great idea."
Future plans for his music
While Sting has been keeping busy with his musical, he has also been touring with his band STING 3.0. He explained how he's enjoying working as part of a trio now, saying: "I've got a band now called 3.0, which is a trio, which I've had some experience with in the past, and I'm loving that format.
"I've reduced the songs to the basic structure, and they are sturdy enough to withstand that kind of win.
"And it's great fun and it's easy to change on a dime. I can change a key, I can find new ideas and almost improvise on stage as we perform.
"So I'm enjoying the trio. We're going back to the States after the play, immediately and we'll be touring for the rest of the year. So that's also... I'm very busy, Simon."
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