Sting: The Last Ship at La Seine Musicale
An exceptional Panthea mission
In just two weeks, Panthea rose to the challenge of translating and creating the surtitles for Sting’s musical “The Last Ship”, presented at La Seine Musicale in Paris from 18 February to 8 March 2026. Between the Newcastle dialect, naval jargon, and technical demands, this unique journey at the heart of the creative process is recounted by Manon Bertrand, translator and surtitler, who shares her experience.
Translating a work brings a host of challenges, much to the translator’s delight, as they eagerly draw on their full range of tools. But when it comes to tackling a musical, written in the Newcastle dialect by Sting, the challenge takes on an entirely new dimension. The Last Ship indeed relies on a highly specific vocabulary linked to the naval world, as well as dialectal and colloquial speech.
An unforgettable project and encounter
“What an honour it was to work for such an artist! I’ve always listened to his music, with The Police and as a solo performer. And yet, I wasn’t familiar with his album The Last Ship, nor with its 2014 stage adaptation and later musical version. I discovered each song as I translated it. As with every project, I fully immersed myself, but it was only upon arriving in the control room at La Seine Musicale that I grasped the scale of the production: a vast auditorium, strikingly realistic sets, a real hive of activity around the stage, around thirty performers… a show worthy of Broadway. And at the heart of it all: my French surtitles.
The English production team seemed pleased, so much so that it reached Sting’s ears. I even had the immense privilege of meeting him. His kindness and humility left a deep impression on me. Simply greeting him would already have been incredible, but for him to take me in his arms, and thank me for my work (which he had taken the time to read) was a timeless moment. What greater recognition could there be than that of the master himself? One of the most memorable Panthea projects I’ve had the chance to experience.” — Manon Bertrand, Panthea surtitler
We would also like to mention that the production chose Panthea’s [Supertitles Out Of the Box] solution for the surtitles display.
