Review: Titanique musical London | Criterion Theatre - Original London cast | West End

Lisa in the theatre
Jan 25
3 min read

Updated: Nov 19

Take Jack & Rose's Titanic love story and give it more Céline Dion, more farce and more sparkles!

Titanique

Book by Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli and Tye Blue | Directed by Tye Blue

Titanque musical review, Criterion Theatre, London 2025 ★★★★☆

Review: Criterion Theatre | 21 January 2025

Titanique is the off-Broadway, award-winning musical parody of James Cameron's Oscar winning film Titanic. It is not to be confused with 'Titanic the musical', the all more serious, historically accurate musical about the tragedy based on real people. No, Titanique is very much what fans of the Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet movie may be looking for: it's Jack and Rose's story on stage, in musical form - almost!

In this version of events Celine Dion (Canadian singer of the iconic Titanic anthem "My Heart Will Go On") professes to have been a passenger onboard the fateful ship. This is Celine's version of what happened between Jack and Rose on the night "the unsinkable ship" sank. And she's going to tell the story using her own back catalogue of songs.

Layton Williams in Titanique musical London West End — Layton Williams in Titanique

What is Titanique the musical about?

The story begins during a modern-day Titanic museum tour. As the tour guide (Layton Williams) delights guests with Titanic facts, pop singer Celine Dion (Lauren Drew) appears out of nowhere to correct him. That's not how she remembers things!

As Celine begins to tell her story we are whisked back to 1912 as Jack (Rob Houchen), Rose (Kat Ronney), Cal (Jordan Luke Gage), Rose's mum Ruth (Stephen Guarino), the unsinkable Molly Brown (Charlotte Wakefield), the ship's Captain (Darren Bennett), the other passengers and crew board the ill-fated ship of dreams.

Titanique is certainly original; it knows it's bonkers and it runs with it. It's more casual and relaxed than your typical West End show; The cast improvise a lot, and there are plenty of pop culture references thrown into the mix too. It's a parody and the humour is silly, over the top and non-stop.

In the compact Criterion Theatre the audience are very close to the stage. On the evening I saw Titanique, the audience were in hysterics for the full 100 minutes (there isn't an interval) and the atmosphere in the auditorium was incredible. Knowing looks pass between performers and audience members all night, and the actors play up to the energy from the crowd.

Staged like a concert, there are no scene changes, barely any props and the fabulous live band are seated on stage. But the stage design is ingenious. The stairs and railings of the Titanic are immediately recognisable, and thanks to gorgeous lighting and clever direction, Titanique succeeds in reenacting all the best-loved scenes from the film.

Titanique musical London original west end cast — Rob Houchen (Jack), Lauren Drew (Celine Dion) and Kat Ronney (Rose) in Titaique London

A world-class, West End company

The casting for Titanique in London is spot on with the maximum caricature, hilarity and joy squeezed out of every role.

All eight of the lead cast are superb, and their vocal performances, whether individually or together, are astonishing. A comedy musical spoof this may be, but make no mistake there is a world-class, West End company on that stage.

Titanique leans into its extreme campness and is definitely a safe space for any LGBTQIA+ audience members. The show even boasts the best six words I've ever read going into a theatre... "Starring Layton Williams as the Iceberg!"

That should tell you all you need to know about the vibe of this show. And as is to be expected, the Iceberg Bitch slayed.

Essentially a Celine Dion jukebox musical, the score for Titanique is full of Dion's best-known hits, as well as some truly weird and wonderful surprises. 'To Love You More', 'All By Myself' and of course 'My Heart Will Go on' are the showstoppers of the night; but my personal favourite was Darren Bennet's "We Drove All Night" - just sublime.

Titanique is what happens when you take the love story from James Cameron's Titanic film but give it more Céline Dion, more farce and more sparkles. It's so much fun. ★★★★☆

Titanique is at The Criterion Theatre, London - booking until 8 June 2025

Buy Titanique London tickets from £34 at LOVETheatre here