I never thought that it would be possible to have a full-sized theatre on a boat.
‘Surely, I used to think, ‘theatres are reserved as a land-only activity’.
How very, very wrong I was.
Recently, I was invited to interview the cast of the Anthem of the Seas musical aboard – and I said yes without hesitation.
I’d never even been on a cruise before, and even if it was just for a couple of hours, I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity.
On a cloudy Sydney morning, I made my way down to Circular Quay to visit the docked cruise ship, in the few hours they had here before they took off again.
With 16 levels, the ship featured a variety of shops, restaurants, bars, several pools (indoors and outdoors), a spa, gym, sports courts, and most excitingly – a full-on theatre.
As I made my way there, I was shocked at the scale.
The theatre had three levels of seating (a circle and two stands), and it didn’t feel like it was on a cruise ship at all.
The show they currently have on board is We Will Rock You The Musical – a futuristic jukebox musical featuring Queen’s best hits.
Set in a dystopian year 2350, where live music is banned, and society is controlled by the Globalsoft Corporation, rebels called “Bohemians” and leaders Galileo and Scaramouche fight to restore rock ‘n’ roll and individuality.
Actors Maia Maclennan and Louis Nayler, both from the UK, sat on the stage as they greeted me.
Maia is the Dance Captain of We Will Rock You The Musical and plays Cindy Lauper, and Louis plays Madonna, and is one of the Bohemians.
He also covers a couple of the leads, including Kashoggi and Pop.
I sat down with the pair in the front row of the theatre, where they were doing sound checks to prepare for their next show.
Both actors have impressive careers in musical theatre – both on land and sea.
As for how different working in theatre is on a boat compared to on land, Louis says the biggest difference for him is that you’re living at work.
“When you’re on land, you can do a gig, and then you can go home. Here, you’re always at work. You see the same people all week that you’ve performed for. Every cruise you do, you make a little bit of a family where the people that recognise you hit you up at the buffet and say ‘great show’,” he says.
Maia says that part of the challenge doin a stage show on a boat is adapting to a rocky night.
“You have to be able to adapt to that. At sea, we go through storms, and it can change how it feels on stage. But once you get used to it, you get used to your sea legs,” she says.
“It is really difficult to adapt it to begin with,” she says, laughing, adding, “We find that with a lot of the new hires, they find it quite difficult and sometimes get a bit seasick… but when you get used to it!”
They tell me that they love working on cruise ships, but “especially Anthem of the Seas”.
“Anthem is a special ship, and so many people come back to every department. It’s a sought-after ship, and it has something different about it. It’s magic. It’s the perfect balance, size of ship, the itinerary, standard of shows… everything is just right here,” Louis says.
The pair tell me the hiring process can take a while.
“You normally do anywhere between six to eight weeks in Miami at the Royal Caribbean Studios first, and then you join the ship for anywhere between six to 10 and a half months – which is what we’re currently doing” Maia tells me.
As they both live so far away from home for months at a time, they say they’re grateful for the internet.
“There’s lots of Facetiming, texting, voice notes and keeping in contact every way that we can,” Louis says.
“It’s trying to find a good balance of enjoying what you’re doing in the moment, but also not missing out on too much at home.”
The staff are also allowed to have family visits.
“Some of us are lucky enough to have family out to see us. When they’re on board, it’s so special!” Maia says with a big grin.
