I have had a lifelong fascination with the beauty and grandeur of Ocean Liners, these spectacular “Floating Palaces”. The TITANIC legacy has endured over the past 112 years with recognizable stories of sacrifice and human tragedy.
The White Star liner RMS TITANIC legacy has endured over 112 years with tales of sacrifice and human tragedy. Only days after RMS TITANIC foundered near her last reported position of 41° North 50° West, a US Senate Inquiry was held in New York’s Waldorf Astoria in New York to determine causes of the disaster. Stunned survivors were only just arriving on the Cunard rescue ship Carpathia.
41N 50W is a documentary style historical drama adapted from 1,100 pages of actual 1912 US Senate hearings testimony and uniquely focuses on key players, misinformation, arrogance, ignorance, and rescue efforts surrounding the tragedy. These true testimonies, and lesser-known backstories in 41N 50W, paint a chilling image of unfolding events that surrounded the disaster.
Many individuals involved were not only those on-board RMS TITANIC. There were key players in New York, at remote Wireless Stations, as well as on multiple ships in the area. These are the lesser recognized heroes and perceived villains with true tales of confusion and incompetence, combined with other actions of extreme bravery.
I was inspired to not only tell their stories, but to explore the events of that cold April night in 1912 from a very different perspective as details emerged. I have purposely used the actual words of these individuals compiled together in a theatrical format, very much like editing a documentary film from volumes of raw footage.
41N 50W shares a unique perspective recounting these actual experiences, not unlike many popular “reality” shows today. This dramatic play purposely re-creates a real-life environment where audiences are part of the action, giving a feeling that they are spectators in a legitimate US Government hearing, while witnesses called to testify explore many of the unknown “behind the scenes” elements of true events surrounding TITANIC.
As the story progresses, pieces of a puzzle come together, just as the facts became more apparent with each hour back in 1912. Drawing conclusions from this tragedy we are brought forward over a century later to the Costa Concordia debacle and are confronted with historic maritime mishaps such as the Normandie fire, the Andrea Doria/Stockholm collision and the MTS Oceanos sinking.
More recently, I was stunned by the Ocean Gate Submersible tragedy. James Cameron, director of the blockbuster film TITANIC, appeared on CNN with Anderson Cooper saying ”Here’s a case starkly, today, where the collective ‘We’ didn’t remember the lesson of TITANIC. These guys at OceanGate didn’t. Because the arrogance and hubris that sent that ship to its doom is the exact same thing that sent those people in that sub to their fate.” He added it was “just heartbreaking that both were so preventable.”
So, what HAVE we learned? Cameron asked this ultimate question echoed in 41N 50W – Has ANYTHING changed? When will humanity learn from our past mistakes and make an effort to create a better future?
In April 2012 I had the distinct honor of sailing on Azamara Journey to the final coordinates of the TITANIC, 41°N 50° W, on the 100th Anniversary of her sinking. I was invited by dear friend, celebrated author, and Maritime Historian Bill Miller (better known as MR. OCEAN LINER), to join him. This was a rare opportunity to record history firsthand.
Mr. Miller presented a series of dynamic talks. Other distinguished guests included Ken Marschall, recognized as the world’s foremost Titanic artist whose iconic images “have become part of Titanic’s history itself.” Also on board was John Langley, Chairman International Cunard Steamship Society, as well as several relatives of TITANIC survivors and victims.
A very moving ceremony was held on the open deck in the freezing air at 2:20am, the exact moment White Star liner TITANIC slipped beneath the waves. Emotion was overwhelming. By the time of this 100th Anniversary I was already nearing the first draft completion of 41N SOW. The voyage further brought home, in a deeply personal way, how TITANIC will forever hold an enduring and powerful grip for so many.
Download 41N 50W Play Pitch Deck (PDF) :
41N 40W has enjoyed staged readings at Ken Davenport Studios in New York, starring award winning Broadway and Film actress Anita Gillette, as well as staged readings at the London St. James Theatre and a full scale critically acclaimed production in Southampton at the SeaCity Museum, directed by West End and Film talent Norma Atallah. We are now seeking new representation and full scale productions. Please contact us for production script or more information . CLICK TO CONTACT Robert Neal Marshall.
“Aptly performed in the old magistrates’ court, now a room dedicated to the Titanic within the SeaCity Museum, 41N50W uses the testimony of the 82 people who gave evidence to a US Senate Inquiry days after the disaster in 1912…..cleverly uses its setting within the old court to draw the audience in, making you feel almost as though you were at the original inquiry in New York…..the cast of five wrings more compassion, anguish and controversy out of the disaster than any dramatic adaptation….It is a real achievement that through able performances, some well-chosen sound effects and the actual words of those who survived, 41N50W can bring alive once again that most well-known of catastrophes.” -James Franklin, Daily Echo
“I went to see your play in Southampton yesterday and thought it was brilliant. The whole concept was amazing and I was gripped from the moment it started. I have been telling all my friends about it” – Kate Drummond
“Brilliant interpretation of the US Senate hearings. The actors and actress played their varying parts so well they they brought alive the testimonies and stories that painted a very chilling unravelling of a complex series of events….The whole production was electric and the performances kept one spell bound from beginning to end” – Christopher & Janet Pickard (Relative of TITANIC victim William Hipkins)