Northern Echo editor to make stage debut in Titanic show (From The Northern Echo)

Northern Echo editor to make stage debut in Titanic show

8:00am Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in News By Lauren Pyrah, Deputy Business Editor

THE editor of The Northern Echo will step back in time when he pays tribute to one of his most famous predecessors in a musical to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of The Titanic.

Peter Barron will be transformed into William Thomas Stead, one of the paper’s first editors, who died on the illfated ship as he prepared to cross the Atlantic on a crusade for social justice.

Mr Barron will play WT Stead in Darlington Operatic Society’s production of the Tony award-winning Titanic: The Musical, which will be staged at Darlington Civic Theatre in April to mark the centenary of the maritime tragedy.

The musical, written in 1997, tells of the hopes and dreams of real people who boarded Titanic – some to splendour in the luxury of the finest liner ever built, others to make a new life for themselves in America.

From an uplifting and excitable act one, the mood of the piece changes in act two, once it is clear the allegedlyunsinkable ship is indeed starting her inevitable descent to the bottom of the freezing North Atlantic ocean.

With only enough lifeboats on board to save less than half of the passengers, class distinction breaks down and the human instinct for survival takes over.

Mr Barron, who will make his appearance in the show’s final night on May 5, said: “I can’t sing, can’t act and can’t dance, but I am delighted to have been asked to be involved.

Darlington Operatic Society has a tremendous track record and it will be an honour to be part of the cast.

“WT Stead was a great man, who laid the foundations for The Northern Echo as a campaigning newspaper, and it is a privilege to remember him in this way.”

Mr Barron’s previous stage experience is limited to playing the innkeeper’s son in a nativity play and appearing as a dame in a Northern Echo office pantomime.

Darlington Operatic Society spokesman Julian Cound said: “The music in Titanic is truly spectacular, ranging from anthemic chorus pieces to heartbreaking duets. The musical pays tribute to those who perished in the most quintessential disaster of the 20th Century.

“We are thrilled that Peter will be a part of this special production paying his own tribute to WT Stead.”

Titanic runs at the Darlington Civic Theatre from Wednesday, April 25, to Saturday, May 5, with a matinee performance on Saturday, April 28. Tickets for Titanic: The Musical are on sale now. Call 01325-244659 or book online at darlingtonos.org.uk