Shaggy will co-star with Sting in The Last Ship for two performances at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London's West End, the first on 22 September 2026 and the gala night on 23 September (WhatsOnStage).

Shaggy reprises the role of the Wallsend Ferryman, a character he first played in a newly adapted version of the musical at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. That production ran for nine performances at Lincoln Center from 9 to 14 June 2026, with Sting appearing as Jackie White, a shipyard worker, and Shaggy as the ferryman who ferries workers across the river (Metropolitan Opera). The pair performed material from the show on Good Morning America on 5 June 2026, ahead of the Met run (BroadwayWorld).

The West End engagement is a limited run at the 2,000-seat Theatre Royal Drury Lane, owned by LW Theatres. It runs from 22 September to 3 October 2026. Sting will appear in every performance, continuing his STING 3.0 World Tour in parallel. Shaggy will perform in only the first two nights.

The Last Ship is inspired by Sting's upbringing in Wallsend, a town on the River Tyne dominated by shipbuilding. The musical draws on themes he first explored in his 1991 album The Soul Cages and follows a community facing the closure of their local shipyard. This reimagined 2026 adaptation features a new book by playwright Barney Norris, newly written numbers, and direction by Leo Warner. The producer is Karl Sydow.

Sting said of Shaggy's casting: "I immediately knew Shaggy was the perfect man for this role. He has a great sense of mischief, a great sense of joy, and he's also a natural actor." The two artists have collaborated before, releasing a joint album, 44/876, in 2018.

The creative team includes set and props designer Jenny Melville, costume designer Loren Elstein, lighting designer Adam Bassett, sound designer Tom Gibbons, animation director Matt Taylor, choreographer Rebecca Howell, video designer Benjamin Pearcy, musical supervisor and orchestrator Rob Mathes, and musical director and co-orchestrator Richard John. The remaining cast will be announced.

Tickets for the West End run went on sale when the engagement was announced. An expanded edition of Sting's The Last Ship album, featuring five new recordings, is set for release on 5 December (Metropolitan Opera).

For fans, the draw is straightforward: the man who wrote "Boombastic" and "It Wasn't Me" alongside the man who wrote "Every Breath You Take," sharing a West End stage for exactly two nights before Shaggy departs and the run continues with Sting alone.