A Titanic parody show docks in Sydney
The cult hit Titanique, debuting in Australia in September, poses the question: What if Celine Dion set sail on the doomed cruise liner in 1912, and lived to tell the tale?
When musical theatre performer Marney McQueen first read the script for Titanique, she was immediately reminded of how Barry Humphries would say he was in the business of ‘cheering up.’
“I just read it and I thought, ‘yes, yes, yes!’” she tells The Australian, as we sail across a particularly choppy Sydney Harbour on the rickety Royale boat, which, for the occasion, has been renamed Celine in honour of the cast announcement for the Michael Cassel Group’s upcoming Australian production of Titanique.
The off-Broadway musical, which became a word-of-mouth hit in its native New York City (the most dedicated fans call themselves TiStaniques), will dock in Sydney in September for an exclusive run of shows at The Grand Electric in Surry Hills.
Titanique is a musical retelling of James Cameron’s multiple Oscar-winning 1997 blockbuster, Titanic, but with the Celine Dion factor cranked up. It poses the question: What if Canada’s beloved balladeer set sail on the doomed cruise liner in 1912 and survived to tell the tale … and what if she did it through her songs?
It is precisely as silly as it sounds — a bawdy, deliriously camp, fourth-wall-shattering farce that feels more spiritually akin to a drag show than musical theatre. It should come as no surprise that the show’s writers, Marla Mindelle and Constantine Rousouli, came up with the concept on a drunken night out in Los Angeles.
“I think Sydney is the perfect place for it,” McQueen says with a wink. “It’s so fun, wild, fresh, and very, very funny. It’s all about accepting everybody, but also nobody is safe. Everybody cops it and everybody feels the love.”
Titanique arrives at a moment of peak Celine. Between the Prime Video documentary I Am: Celine Dion, and the songstress’s sparkling show at the Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony — her first public performance since 2020, following her diagnosis with stiff person syndrome — it feels like the already intense love for pop’s ultimate diva is at a fever pitch.
McQueen will play Dion, in a role that requires she adopt the star’s erratic Québécois accent, over-the-top expressionism, and, crucially, her ability to belt like her life is on the line. “I’m not afraid of a big sing,” McQueen says confidently. She explains that for the past several years she has been singing ‘big ballads’ at the pub she owns with her husband, The Royal Hotel Wyong on the Central Coast, “to liven up our Saturday nights.”
Starring alongside McQueen is Drew Weston and Georgina Hopson as lovers Jack and Rose; Matt Lee as the villainous Victor Garber and Abu Kebe as The Iceberg. Rounding off the cast is Stephen Anderson, Keane Sheppard-Fletcher, and Abigail Dixon.
The forthcoming shows mark the production’s first international offshoot and will be exclusive to Sydney with support from state tourism agency Destination NSW. Speaking at the cast announcement, Steve Cox, CEO of Destination NSW, said that one of the most exciting aspects of the production is the venue, The Grand Electric, which took over from the shuttered Giant Dwarf in January 2023. “We know Sydney is renowned for big production venues in the heart of the CBD, but what is less known is the mid-range venues, those on the fringes of the city.”
Titanique opens at The Grand Electric from September 12