As is normal when entertainment acts perform on a ship, they would fly out to the destination they were going to board, the day before. This was to ensure you didn’t miss the ship. As anyone who cruises, passenger or crew, knows that a ship rarely waits past its sailing time. Many times, passengers get caught on the quayside, even minutes too late, to see their ship sail away. 

The night before was spent in Spain, where I was staying at the same hotel as KM. I took him out for dinner, trying to get off on the right foot, before getting an early night. 

The next day we boarded the ship early. We went through easy immigration and settled into our separate inside staterooms. It still baffled me why anyone would stay in such accommodation on holiday, where they stay in a tiny room with no window. You would never stay in a hotel this way and feels immediately dated. The obvious reason would be price, yet often there is very little difference between an Inside Cabin and one with a window. However, having a balcony is considerably more, generally. 

As I have stated previously, Cunard being Cunard, is the only line where there is still a class system: Regular, Princess Grill and Queens Grill. There is a substantial difference between these, with the Princess and Queen classes really being the only luxurious ones and are a tiny percentage of the cabins onboard. These ‘higher class’ passengers, will generally have a whole different cruising experience. This also feels incredibly dated, somewhat demeaning, and a philosophy that the United Kingdom as a whole, has done well to modernise itself from. Not Cunard!

That aside, I was here for work, and the cabin never failed to remind you of that. Although I was in an Inside cabin, the bones of the room were the same as the huge majority of the other cabins onboard. Although the bed was very comfortable, I was surprised to see that even on their new gleaming ship: The Queen Anne, the bathrooms are uncomfortably tiny, where sitting on the toilet you can still put your feet in the plastic shower basin, with a flimsy plastic curtain. Within the cabins, the storage space for your clothes etc, consists of equally small Ikea looking wardrobes, where for a cruise over a week, you would no doubt have to keep many clothes in your suitcase. 

So, you may ask how Cunard get away with calling themselves a luxury cruise line – well, because it is… for the 10%!

Onboard, I met with a different choreographer once again. Jo was not hired past land-side rehearsals, which was a shame and unnecessary, no doubt to save money, regardless of the effect on the quality. Luckily the choreographer was excellent from the get-go and reminded me of Jo in many ways and would prove invaluable later in the cruise when shit hit the fan!

Rehearsals wouldn’t begin immediately as they still had another show to ready. By the time we got to “Top Hat” the cast were exhausted, but putting on a brave face. One of the first things I shared with them, was that I knew how tired they were, but they were on the final stretch and after this, life got a whole lot easier and enjoyable. Not everyone were first timers, so they could be reassured of this, by their comrades.

For the most part the cast had remembered the show well. They had, had regular ‘reminder rehearsals’ along the way, but it was still impressive what they were able to remember. The advantage of youth. 

I was now fully aware of KM’s limitations and so well prepared. Still, on occasion, his laziness, inappropriateness and disregard of his role, wound me up to such a degree, that I would find myself pacing the upstairs deck, to not reveal my real feelings and hinder the install. 

What was an absolute delight, was that while onboard, I saw in the programme, whom the Celebrity Guest Speaker was, and to my joy she was a good friend. I surprised her after her first lecture, and we were thrilled to see each other. She was on board with her mother, best friend and her mother. Over the next week we would spend a lot of time together, which to this day, she has no idea what a life saver that was. It was not fair to burden them with my issues, as they were here to work themselves, and enjoy the experience.

Install rehearsals were going well on the most part. My only real objection would come from KM’s constant sexual innuendos with the young male cast. I pulled him up on it several times and stated my discomfort, but it fell on deaf ears. Sadly, he knew no better and was unwilling to learn that these were different times. Even when the actors looked at him uncomfortably and disapprovingly, he was blind to it. 

My other main objection was when KM would belittle cast members, behind their backs, to other cast members. Often going so far as criticising their ability, to cover up his own inabilities. Again, I would pull him up on this, but he cared little. In my entire career, I had never come across this type of brazenly poor unprofessional behaviour from a director, and it set a terrible precedent. 

In truth, as time went on I became more and more frustrated that he would be the one in charge of maintaining the quality of the show for years to come, because I knew he just wouldn’t do a good job.

However, this was suddenly put aside after the first full run-through of the show, the day before we opened, when it all went downhill very quickly. After the first run-through I asked where the live musicians were. I was told they would be with us the next day for the shows two further run-throughs, before the two performances to the passengers. I accepted this. It wasn’t that unusual, as the musicians are always highly capable and need little rehearsal. 

A short while later, while I was enjoying pre-dinner drinks with the Celebrity Guest Entertainer and her posse, I received a WhatsApp message from KM, stating that in fact there would be no live musicians available at all for the performances. 

This was a HUGE problem. Not only did it make a MASSIVE difference to the quality of the show at large, Cunard were contractually obligated to always present the show with live musicians. It was VERY CLEAR in the Rights Agreement. It was also a huge reason as to why I was here: to ensure that the show was presented to the best of its ability and to ensure that the legal agreements were met.

To highlight the importance of this, it is highly unlikely that the rights of the show, permitted by the Gershwin Estate, would have been given, had the show been presented without live musicians. It is ALWAYS of fundamental importance. The original creatives, specifically the composer, insist on this. The reason being, they know just how much of a difference it makes. 

For many years Cruise Lines were refused the rights to West End/Broadway productions, because it wasn’t felt that they could present them to a high enough quality. When they showed how much they had progressed in their ability and standards, to these all-important creatives, such as Andrew Lloyd Webber, slowly big named shows started to appear on cruise ships for the first time. It was a huge step forward and not to be belittled.  It was a game changer. 

However, to ensure that the standards were kept up, it was necessary to insist that myself, the Producer of the show, carry out yearly quality checks. It was written within the contract. It was of such importance, that on drafting the contractual agreement between SilverBlue Entertainment, and Cunard, for “Top Hat”, it was non negotiable, even though Cunard tried to take the clause out on a number of occasions. 
But it could not have been made clearer that it was NON-NEGOTIABLE. 

So, on being told once again that live musicians would not be performing, it was a huge problem. 

Cunard were all too aware of this, because on the initial quality check made by me months earlier, they also tried to perform without musicians and were quickly told it wasn’t an option. It was immediately corrected. This was due to the Cruise Director, who took care of it without any further fuss, as soon as it was brought to her attention. Her name was Sally. She was highly experienced, professional and terrific to work with.

We were not so lucky with the inexperienced Cruise Director now. On receiving this message from KM, I excused myself from drinks and met with KM and the choreographer, whereby they informed me of the situation and that the Production Manager had put his foot down and said NO! 

I headed straight to the theatre to meet with this Production Manager (PM). I told him it was non negotiable, and Cunard was legally obligated. He didn’t care. What made matters worse was that this was a temporary PM, with very little experience, just brought on by Cunard to fill a gap, and who was blatantly enjoying what he believed to be his 15 minutes of power. He just kept repeating ‘NO’! 

I messaged the Musical Director (MD) to meet with me urgently. He did. Although this was a Headliners MD, he too was excellent. I told him we needed to call Adam Jenkins, landside and get this taken care of. We called Adam together. He picked up immediately. 

I made it very clear to Adam that I was not happy to find out that the show had been playing for the last 6 months without musicians. A total breach of contract. And here I was again being told no musicians would be used. 
I reminded Adam it was also MY responsibility and JOB to ensure the contract was fully followed. Should the rights holders discover I had not played my part, it would be all but impossible for me to acquire the rights for any future productions, the majority of which are held by the same company. This was my reputation at stake too. 

All credit to Adam, he knew this was not good, and a huge mistake on their part, no doubt, that I had found out. He assured me it would be taken care of and not to worry. I thanked him for being so responsive. 

After approximately 30 minutes, I was called into a meeting with the Cruise Director. She was refreshingly young for Cunard, which at first, I thought was a good thing. Unfortunately, this also meant she was less experienced than the previous CD’s I had worked with, and nervous to make any important decisions. Which would start a spiralling effect of problems. 

In the meeting at first, it was herself, the MD and me. She told me musicians would not be possible as it was too late to make the changes to the sound board. Little be known to her; I had already checked with the Sound Engineer, and he had assured me it would not be an issue. 

Subsequently the Sound Engineer and the PM were called to the meeting. Throughout all this, the CD was live messaging with landside on her computer. At this point I was not told who this was.

The Production Manager double downed and said it would not be possible. 

Firstly: because they could not change the Sound Board. The Sound Engineer (SE), who was in the room, was excellent in confirming directly that it would not be a problem. 

Whereby the Cruise Director tried to strong arm the SE and told him under no uncertain circumstances: 

“If anything goes wrong it is YOUR fault!” 

I was disgusted and horrified at the CD’s threats in this manner and made it VERY CLEAR that I took FULL RESPONSIBILITY in all of this. The SE, even though under pressure from the CD, admirably confirmed it would not be a problem, and it would take him a mere 15 minutes to adjust the sound board. Which he was happily willing to do.  

At which point the Production Manager stated that the second issue was that they could no longer bring the instruments to the stage, as they were one deck below, and it would mean that they would have to take the whole set down, bring them up in the lift and then rebuild the set. Which would take hours and hours. 

This was ludicrous! 

I asked what the issue was in just carrying the instruments up the one flight of stairs. We weren’t talking about heavy instruments here, such as the piano, as it was already accessible. These were handheld instruments, such as flutes and trumpets. I was told this was not possible, due to safety rules. 

This was a blatant lie. The musicians would regularly carry their instruments all around the ship when needed. 

The Cruise Director chose to stay silent at this time, even though it was clearly obvious to everyone in the meeting, that this was bullshit. Any of the CD’s I had worked with in the past, would have put a stop to this façade right there and then, and make it happen. Instead, she kept messaging landside.

At which point my patience started to fade and I reminded the CD of my contractual obligations and unless there would be live musicians, there would not be a show. And neither would there be a show for the next 6 months, before I could carry out a further quality check to ensure that they were carrying out their legal obligations. 

The CD then confirmed whom she was communicating with. It was David Webster, the Executive in charge of on-board quality control. She simply said:

“Barry, unfortunately David Webster is refusing to have live musicians for the show”

I very calmly asked the CD for David Webster to immediately call us and for me to speak with him. She messaged him and 30 seconds later the phone rang. It was David Webster. Whereby the CD stepped away and I took the call. 

I told David this was non negotiable as we were ALL contractually obligated and a major reason as to why I was onboard. 
He responded:

“Barry, I am very disappointed by your behaviour. I have been a big supporter in trying to get your future show ideas approved, but if you continue to insist on live musicians you will NEVER work for Cunard ever again!”

To say I was shocked at his aggressive and highly inappropriate THREAT, is one hell of an understatement. 

I asked him to repeat himself. He did:

“Barry, if you continue to insist on live musicians you will NEVER work for Cunard ever again!”

I responded:

“David, I do insist on live musicians, otherwise there will be no show.”

At which point I politely ended the call. I walked out, past the CD, the PM, the MD and the Sound Engineer: visibly shaking. The CD could see I was incredibly upset and asked: ‘What do we do?’

I told her it’s up to David Webster. 

The immense emotions of anger, upset, frustration and even sadness that this man thought it acceptable to BULLY and THREATEN me, just to get me to do what he wanted, even though that would require me to fail at own my job. To then aggressively BRIBE me, in order to ignore my professional responsibilities, or otherwise never work for Cunard ever again.

He even went so far as to BLATANTLY LIE to me, stating that he had ‘been a big supporter in trying to get ‘my’ future show ideas approved’.  

He had never ONCE supported my ideas, nor had he any intention of considering my ideas, as they had already agreed to use Julian Bird. Yet knowing that I was unaware of this fact, he thought that he could manipulate me in thinking, that if I turned a blind eye to my legal responsibilities for “Top Hat”, he would support me in producing future shows for Cunard.  

But if I didn’t agree to dishonour my legal obligations, he would see to it, that my career with Cunard was over!

This was a man that was so intent on getting his own way, whatever the cost, that he was willing to LIE, THREATEN, and basically BRIBE me, to NOT do my job. 

(And ironically, by doing my job, I was fulfilling what his job was: to ensure that the onboard entertainment was delivered to the best quality…and he was fighting for the exact opposite, just to satisfy his own ego, in being obeyed)

It was HORRIFYING.

On leaving the Cruise Directors office, I stepped into the lift on Deck 1. It stopped on Deck 3, whereby some other passengers joined. I was so livid, I took myself out of the lift to avoid contact, and walked out of the two large wooden doors, onto the outside Promenade deck. 

This was usually one of my favourite areas, as it was an outside promenade that enabled you to walk around the entire ship. And unlike the other outdoor deck areas that started from Deck 9, this being only Deck 3, you were incredibly close to the ocean and could truly feel and respect its absolute might. I headed straight to the stern of the ship, whereby I leaned against the gleaming wooden barricade, the only thing standing between me and the vast open sea, staring down at the mighty propeller’s wash, as it thrust the 90,000-tonne vessel forward. It was a sight that never failed to impress. I stood there motionless, watching the water being both violently, yet elegantly propelled backwards to create a wake so vast, the path of the ship was visible for miles. 

These were the times when you were reminded how alone you were. Far out to sea, with no one to vent to, or lean on for support. I was genuinely mortified that someone could make me feel so angry. That someone could be this UGLY! 

Even though these were times, as I write this, that were over a year ago, I can remember them so vividly, cemented in my memory. 

As I stood there, watching this great spectacle the ship was creating in its wake, it calmed me down just long enough, to turn around and through the floor to ceiling windows, see the passengers in the main dining room, enjoying their meal. I even remember a female guest, whom I had chatted to that day, waving hello. 

As I politely waved back, I suddenly remembered that my friend, the Celebrity Guest Lecturer, and her guests, were waiting for me in the speciality restaurant for dinner. I pulled myself together as best as I could and headed straight to the restaurant. They had been politely waiting for me before ordering but could see that I was out of sorts. I pretended all was fine, just typical issues and tried to carry on. It would not have been fair to burden them with all that was going on and ruin their evening. 

I had to go to the bathroom no less than 3 times throughout dinner, to calm myself. 

After dinner, my friend and her posse wanted to see the evenings entertainment in the theatre, and I said I would meet them there. I went to the bar to settle myself with a stiff drink, whereby I ran into Keith Myers and the choreographer who were in fine spirits.  I told them that I didn’t think “Top Hat” would be able to go up, whereby the choreographer quickly responded:

“What are you talking about? Whatever you said totally worked. All the musicians will be in the first rehearsal run through after all.”

I couldn’t believe it. I relayed to them exactly what had happened over the past few hours. I told them of David Websters threats, which they were genuinely shocked by.  Who wouldn’t be?!

When I then stated that I couldn’t believe that the musicians had never ever been re-installed into the show since Covid, the choreographer immediately stated that this was not the case. She clearly told me that she was directly involved in the last install, and she made sure that they were re-installed. She personally oversaw it. 

This was the exact opposite to what Adam had told me on the phone, just a couple of hours previously. He had tried to excuse the absence of musicians, being because they needed the permission of Dave, the original sound designer. All of which was not true, but just an attempt to create a fake excuse to cover their backs. 

This was to cover up the fact, that after they had been re-installed 6 months prior, Cunard then decided to never subsequently use them, blatantly ignoring the legal contract. 

The constant lies, misinformation and deceit that was permanently being offered, time and time again without any regard, was soul destroying. This was a debilitating disease that had infected Cunard Cruise Lines, deeply throughout. 

I didn’t sleep a wink that night. The only thing that controlled my despair, was knowing that I had to calm myself for the all-important performance day. It wasn’t fair for everyone else involved to see my distress. It wasn’t their fault. It wasn’t the performers’ fault, and they needed our full support. 

The next day, it was adrenaline that kept me going. The only moment I nearly cracked was when the Cruise Director came into the final run through, clearly to monitor my mood and no doubt report back. She left within 10 minutes, when she realised, I had no appetite in appeasing her guilt for her part in all of this. Instead, I focused my attention where it needed to be, which was not in her direction.

To my relief, the musicians were all in place, professional as always and ready. I went to each and every one of them and asked for their coffee order, in which I promptly brought to them from the Chart Room Coffee Bar. One thing I had learnt, was that if you respect and take care of the musicians, they will reciprocate kindly.  

(As it happened, they were all perfectly able and willing to walk their instruments up the one flight of stairs. SHOCKER!)

That night, the two shows went off without a hitch. The actors and dancers were terrific. In both shows. The musicians and sound board were faultless. 

Aside from all the insane happenings, I took great pride in seeing what a sincere difference it made, to the entire production, when due care and time was given. I felt justified and assured that it had been well and truly worth making the effort. The sacrifice it took, was a whole other matter!

After treating all the cast, creatives and musicians to an after party, again to show my appreciation to all, I excused myself and headed to bed. 

That night, what struck me the most, was just how unnecessary all the crap that had been thrown at us was. What was the point in it? Why was so much effort made in actions that were so detrimental to the show? 

Oh, I understood very clearly why David Webster acted in the way he did. Here was a man with a massive chip on his shoulders that didn’t like being questioned. He didn’t like being held to account. He took so much pleasure in showing off his power, no matter whether it was right or wrong, because that was how this corporate company worked. And anyone who didn’t fall into place was punished for it. In his head, he truly believed that: “How dare I stand up to him? He was Cunard! He was all powerful and I was just a mere pawn that answered to the man! And HE was the MAN!”

When someone like David Webster behaves in such a manner, it doesn’t solely come from an individual, it comes from far deeper than that. If a company doesn’t live by that style of behaviour, then individuals like David Webster, don’t last. They quickly fail to exist. 

Sadly, I subsequently learned that this was habitual behaviour by him. David Webster had made the same such threats, time and time again, to many different people. 

Over the coming months, when this was made evidently clear to Cunard, how did they respond? 

They stood by him. To such a disgraceful degree, I will relay shortly.

——————————

The day after performance day on board Queen Victoria, we had a day at sea before the ship arrived in Southampton. I spent that day alone as I tried to comprehend everything in my head. This wasn’t now about one singular episode of bullying and threats by one man. This was now about so much more. 

I had now witnessed outright racism throughout the ranks. I had my future being jeopardised by nepotism, with Executives acting in their own interests over the company they worked for. And yes, this was about being lied to, being bullied, being threatened and being disrespected without remorse. 

This was about a company that was showing signs of being rotten to the core. 

I found myself writing it all down, partly to calm myself and to stop the swirling in my head. I decided that on arriving in Southampton I would have a serious, honest conversation with Phil Yeomans. Up to this point, Phil and I had, had a very good, professional, respectful relationship. 

This wasn’t an easy decision. I ran it through my head a hundred times, questioning whether this was the best course of action. The answer to that question was: 

‘No, it wasn’t the BEST thing to do for me’, but it was the RIGHT thing to do. I knew there was no way back after taking this path. I knew that my chances of ever working with Cunard ever again, would be almost definitely over. 

Just the thought of that made me sick to my stomach. After all this hard work. After all these years. After the success that was ‘Top Hat’. How could this be?

But it was simply the case. I had been unfairly mistreated. ‘Welcome to the real world’, I could hear my father say. But this wasn’t just about me and I knew if I didn’t do what I knew was the right thing to do, it would fester in me for a very long time. On the positive side, I told myself that I had the opportunity to do something right. And however hard that decision might make things, doing the right thing, surely at some point in the future, will feel good! 

(I’m still looking forward to that day!)

That evening, I messaged an entertainment lawyer in London: Harbottle and Lewis, whom I had, had previous correspondence with for other projects. I knew due to the severity of the accusations that I would be making against Cunard, it would be wise to get some legal advice. 

Basically: If shit hit the fan, was I protected?

I was pretty sure that so long as I never veered from the truth or ever exaggerated the truth, I was protected. Legally at least. And without question, I have always relayed nothing but the exact truth. Not ‘accounts may vary’ kind of truth. No. Always the EXACT truth. 

The next day, after a third almost sleepless night, I messaged Phil, Adam and David Webster. The email read as follows:

“Dear David, Phil and Adam,

I did not respond to David Webster email yesterday, to allow the production to continue with little extra stress. 

I am sending you correspondence today, at 9am on Thursday, November 10th. 

In over 5 years with Cunard, I have enjoyed a very friendly relationship with Phil Yeoman and Adam Jenkins. 

On Wednesday, November 9th, at approximately 18.30, the Top Hat installation team were told for the first time, that the show would have no live musicians, having had no live musicians since before COVID. 

This was a serious breach of the Theatrical Agreement for Performance: Clause 5. 

I, Barry Satchwell Smith, am contractually on board the Queen Victoria, at the request of the rights holders, to withhold the rights agreement. 

This circumstance set up my last conversation with Adam Jenkins at 18.53 on Wednesday, November 9th, which was very cordial and professional. From that telephone call, including the musical director, we sorted out the immediate production issue we had.

Thereafter David Webster got involved and at 19.10, the same day, informed the cruise director that he had consulted with Adam Jenkins, and it was agreed within themselves that the production would not be using any live musicians for the following days performances of Top Hat. 

I, Barry Satchwell Smith, was informed of this by the cruise director in front of the production manager and musical director. I immediately questioned this decision. 

Subsequently the sound technician joined the meeting and the reasoning for not going ahead with any live musicians, very clearly did not match with what the sound technicians was telling us there and then!

David Webster continued to strongly insist we go ahead with the show without any live musicians. This led to, at 19.11, having a direct telephone conversation with David Webster, where he informed me of his willingness to disregard the contractual agreement and by my discomfort with this, informed me, Barry Satchwell Smith, in no uncertain terms, that I would never work with Cunard again! 

At this point, I asked David Webster to clarify what he just said, and he clarified it with:

After Top Hat, I, Barry Satchwell Smith, will never do another Cunard show, even though he, David Webster had been working hard on my behalf and pitching my shows to get them on board and they were about to become the future of Cunard Entertainment. 

That all changes now, David Webster went on and stated that after Top Hat, Cunard will not be moving forward with me, Barry Satchwell Smith, on any show.

At this point, I thanked David Webster and terminated the call. I left the room, past the cruise director, the production manager, the sound technician and the musical director, visibly upset and distressed. 

In all my previous encounters with David Webster, even though I am the independent producer of Cunard’s premier production show and David Webster is Head of Production, he had never enquired or shown any interest in Top Hat, to me at least. 

On Wednesday, November 9th, David Webster threatened, abused, lied and harassed me, Barry Satchwell Smith and dissolved any possibility of rectifying a situation amicably.

I, Barry Satchwell Smith, will not accept being bullied and intimidated for doing my job to the best of my ability, even if that means this may cause slight inconvenience to the strong and powerful Cunard company. 

On the morning of Friday, November 11th, having now personally witnessed RACISM, NEPOTISM, DISRESPECT, BULLYING, INDIFFERENCE, THREATENING BEHAVIOUR and DELIBERATE CONTRACT DECEPTION, I will be disembarking the Cunard Queen Victoria ship travelling to London, where I will be meeting with our lawyers to work on a press release for early next week. 

At this point, I firmly advise you, to involve legal.”

As you read from the start of the email, I stated I had not responded to David Websters correspondence as it was full of lies and there to try to protect himself. His email read as follows, which I have also added the precise areas he has lied:

“Good evening, Barry

Further to our phone call this evening, I can confirm I’ve spoken to Ashley, Entertainment Director and asked her to facilitate the request to put the show up with the musicians we have available tomorrow.

It is disappointing to have had to intervene this evening…”

DAVID DID NOT HAVE TO INTERVENE, IT HAD ALL BEEN SETTLED AND TAKEN CARE OF WITH ADAM. 

“…from my side given that you’ve been onboard for three days and this challenge has only been flagged the night before the guest performance of Top Hat.”

THE REASON NO ONE HAD INTERVENED PREVIOUSLY WAS BECAUSE IT HAD DELIBERATELY BEEN KEPT FROM US. ON FINDING OUT I RESPONDED WITHIN 5 MINUTES. 

“I appreciate that you have a commitment to ensure the integrity of the show per your agreement with the estate, however you also acknowledged to me that the addition of the band was not essential for tomorrow, but you were pushing this per the contract.”

BLATANT LIES. I HAD MADE IT VERY CLEAR FROM LEARNING OF NO MUSICIANS THAT IT WAS NOT AN OPTION. I MADE IT CLEAR IN FRONT OF NUMEROUS SENIOR INDIVIDUALS. JUST AS I HAD DONE ON THE PREVIOUS QUALITY CHECK CRUISE. 

“I explained my reservations – firstly that we have had some major issues with the sound desk in the last couple of weeks, to such an extent that we have an emergency engineer replacing the desk this Friday, so we are running an unnecessary risk with this,”

BLATANT LIES. THE SOUND ENGINEER WAS IN THE MEETING WITH THE CRUISE DIRECTOR, WHO INDEED TRIED TO BULLY THE SOUND ENGINEER, HOWEVER HE HONOURABLY STATED IT WOULD TAKE MINUTES. THERE WAS NO ADDITIONAL RISK AND THE SHOW WENT OFF WITHOUT A SINGLE HITCH!”

“…secondly due to COVID issues impacting manning we do not have all orchestra available so it may not be the true mix expected anyway…”

LIES. ALL MUSICIANS WERE AVAILABLE. COVID WAS NO LONGER AN ISSUE. JUST AN EASY, GO TO EXCUSE. 

“…and thirdly the current orchestra have not played this show with the new cast and will be going into this with limited rehearsal, putting further risk on the performances.”

THIS WAS OF THEIR DOING! HOWEVER, TWO RUN THROUGHS ARE GENERALLY ALWAYS ENOUGH FOR MUSICIANS. SO AGAIN, BLATANT LIES! 

“My decision tonight was made in consideration of de-escalating the situation and honouring the contract, which I understand in the past 18 months has been graciously given some lenience in light of the COVID restrictions.”

CUNARD HAD STATED THESE COVID RESTRICTIONS WERE NOW OVER… 6 MONTHS PREVIOUS. AND IT WAS OUR BELIEF THE SHOW HAD BEEN PLAYING THROUGHOUT THE LAST 6 MONTHS WITH MUSICIANS. THE ONBOARD CHOREOGRAPHER EVEN STATED SHE PERSONALLY INSTALLED THEM. CUNARD THEN CHOSE TO BLATANTLY DISREGARD THE CONTRACT AND TAKE THEM OUT.

“I understand a line had to be drawn as to fulfilling all obligations, but I had hoped that our relationship was such that you could accept my assurances that from next voyage once a new desk was installed and with adequate time to mix the orchestra and install the band back in with the cast we would thereafter be able to meet the requirements (where ever feasible with the musicians onboard at the time of course). “

ONCE WE DISCOVERED YOU HAD INSTALLED THE MUSICIANS 6 MONTHS AGO AND THEN DISREGARDED THE CONTRACT BY UN-INSTALLING THEM IMMEDIATELY, THIS UNDOUBTEDLY ERADICATED ANY TRUST!

“To hear from the shipboard team that you had advised that you would pull the show for six months if the band didn’t play tomorrow seemed disproportionately harsh and as I mentioned on the phone, this is not the manner we are used to conducting business with our partners.”

THAT IS MY JOB! WHICH AS A PARTNER, SO GRACIOUSLY STATED BY DAVID, SHOULD BE SUPPORTED NOT IGNORED.  A CIRCUMSTANCE THAT ADAM JENKINS RESPECTED IMMEDIATELY. IT ONLY CAUSED ISSUES WHEN DAVID WEBSTER CHOSE TO DISRESPECT… IMMEDIATELY AND WITHOUT REMORSE!

“Since our conversation, I have already gone to the team on Queen Elizabeth and asked that they ensure the band remains in place on there in line with the contract and will reinforce this on Queen Victoria during the management changeover this Friday also to ensure we are meeting the requirements whenever we can. As with all previous operational visits, please feed back any notes or amends via Adam and we will ensure these are captured.

David”

I knew it was pointless to correspond with David Webster from this point. He simply had no interest in following the legal requirements, or the truth. He was interested only his personal protection. 

Phil responded to my email correspondence with immediate respect and understanding, asking to have a personal chat with me before I took further action. Due to my respect with Phil, I agreed. 

I had run through my head countless times what I wanted to say to Phil and how I wanted to say it. To be calm, but firm and accurate. 

Well, I would like to say that I succeeded in that, but not really. When Phil came onto the phone, I let rip. I found myself surprisingly emotional and for the first time saying it all out loud, I realised just how terrible it all was. It’s fair to say, that I’m not an emotional type of person. I’m not a wearing my feelings on my sleeve kind of person. But that’s exactly how I was during this call. Yes, I did manage to relay precisely what I wanted and needed to say, just not as calm and collected as I wanted to be. 

To Phil’s credit he listened. And beyond that he seemed genuinely concerned at what I was telling him. We liked each other. Regardless of what I have written subsequently, and not always being kind in my beliefs regarding Phil’s part in all this, I still believe he is a good person. And he has ALWAYS shown me respect, even after much has been said. And for that I will always be grateful, even if that may not come across, but I felt I had to be truthful and that meant with everything and everyone. 

At the end of the call Phil asked me what my next intentions were. I told him that I would be seeking some legal advice, albeit not with Harbottle and Lewis, as they had written back stating that they could not offer advice in this matter as they were otherwise obligated. I had mentioned Julian Bird in my correspondence with them and presumed that they represented him. As it turned out, that was not the case, they represented Cunard, which was not told to me, until I received a legal correspondence from them months later on Cunard’s behalf. 

I also informed Phil that I would be putting together a press release. Of all the thoughts that were going through my head, I wanted to make it very clear that I would not be bullied any further and would not hesitate in making my experiences known. I also wanted to get ahead of what Cunard may try to speculate. 

Phil asked if he could go away with what I had told him and before I released any press release, could I speak with him further, later that day. I agreed. 

On ending the call, I felt an immediate relief that I had acted and not chickened out. There was no turning back now and however it all turned out, I had done what I knew I should do. 

I disembarked and headed straight to London, whereby I met with a lawyer friend for lunch to seek advice. Although he was not an expert in this department, he did offer some sound advice. Most crucially he made me check my contract with Cunard and look to see if there was a clause stating that I could not speak detrimentally about the company, all the while I had an active contract. 

Thereby, I did check the contract and sure enough, there was that exact clause. 

On speaking with Phil later that day, he asked if I would consider coming in imminently and speaking to their in-house legal team. I declined the ‘imminent’ offer, wanting to get further legal advice, before being thrust in front of legal individuals, no doubt far wiser than myself.

Shortly afterwards Phil got back in touch and informed me that due to the severity of what I had told him, there would be a FULL INTERNAL INVESTIGATION. I would be contacted shortly by Cunard’s Employees Relations Team. His message was:

“…This person will not be from the legal team, rather they’ll be most likely from our Employee Relations team who are best equipped to hear such allegations.”

I was contacted by Jane Cripps on the Nov 21st asking for a Teams Meeting with Ali Greenway the next day. I confirmed that I would be fully available. 

The next day, I had that Teams Meeting with Cunard’s two white Ethics & General Compliance Officers. I have made a point of stating that they were both white, as this investigation did involve racism, and that any such investigation should be represented appropriately. That no doubt was not an option for Cunard, as from my experience, you would be hard pressed to find such diversity in their Carnival House Headquarters. 

Adam once stated to me that Cunard employ individuals from all over the globe. I responded by asking:

How many of those individuals, who are not white, are in senior positions? 

How many Officers of colour do you have on board your ships? 

How many Executives of colour do you have in your Headquarters: Carnival House?

In my experience: ZERO! 

However, if Cunard feel this is an unfair assessment, please offer some numbers to support yourselves?

I have never been told any differently, even though I have now bought it up NUMEROUS times with them.

Adam couldn’t of course, because there is ZERO diversity in his department.

I remember travelling as a passenger on Crystal Cruise Lines 20 years ago and playing paddle tennis with their first ever, very proud Asian Officer. He oversaw laundry. Twenty years ago, Crystal Cruise Lines acknowledged that a department that was made up of entirely Asian employees, would be best fronted by one of their own, as it were. 

I would like to think that, that course of action, that representation, has increased. 

How many crew members on Cunard ships have a non-white Officer to report to?

How many Executives in Carnivals/Cunard’s UK Headquarters are diverse? 

————————–

Putting that aside for now, on Dec 16th I received correspondence that a FULL and THOROUGH investigation had been held. The outcome of the investigation was of course: CONFIDENTIAL. 

However, it relayed to me that there had been ZERO findings of anything inappropriate. The investigation covered the following three aspects:

FIRSTLY RACISM – According to the investigation: Cunard support and make every effort to ensure diversity. 

YET THERE IS LITTLE to NO EVIDENCE OF THIS. When Kudos had the entertainment contract before Cunard’s in house team, there was appropriate diversity, not only in the dancing troupe but also for the lead actors. Yet since Cunard/P&O Cruises took this division in house, there has been ZERO DIVERSITY regarding lead actors. ZERO! 

Of the NUMEROUS casts I saw, there was only ONE ever dancer of colour. On speaking directly with this performer in my own investigation, he stated it was HIGHLY NOTICEABLE to him that he was the only black performer, and in all the previous cast photos, he saw there was none. He was also HIGHLY AWARE that he was given the role of: FOREIGNER. 

Due to the serious nature of the accusations, I was making regarding RACISM, I continued my research. This is what I learnt: 

1. The investigation did not speak with a SINGLE one of the THREE individuals that made the racial observations, behaviour and remarks. They all still work for Cunard in positions of Casting, Musical Direction and Lead Actors. 
2. On speaking with Phil Yeomans AFTER the investigation, he still had NO idea as to how many performers of colour they had employed in this period. When I stated it was only TWO, out of hundreds, he responded: “oh it must be more than that”. 

When he could see I was appalled that after a supposed THOROUGH investigation he still had no idea, his defence was: “Well, we don’t look at such things”. It was an unfortunate truth and seemingly perfectly acceptable to Phil. They didn’t ‘look’ at such things, because they didn’t believe that is what their passengers desired. It served their believed purpose! However wrong that was in today’s world. 

1. I spoke in great depth with the full-time caretaker choreographer on board during my tenure with Cunard, who subsequently left due to health reasons, and on questioning him regarding the lack of diversity on board, he clearly stated: “It was always the Elephant in the Room that got ignored.” I asked him whether that was always the case, in which his response was: “No. Only since Cunard’s Headliners took over. I worked during the Kudos days, and they always had appropriate Diversity”. This statement spoke VOLUMES! 
2. Since Cunard’s Headliners had taken over control of production, there has not been a SINGLE diverse lead actor employed. Not ONE…and Headliners see no issue with this. 

So, to put it simply, since an apparent THOROUGH investigation was held in regard to RACISM: Not a single one of the current, full time employees that made the racist comments was spoken to for the investigation AND the head of Cunard’s Entertainment Division still had NO clue as to the little extent of their diversity, even AFTER a supposed full investigation had been held. 

No great surprise then as to why this thorough INTERNAL investigation was kept: CONFIDENTIAL!

SECONDLY NEPOTISM: 

The investigation suggested that all avenues were pursued regarding the appropriateness of Julian Bird being offered the HUGE contract in delivering future productions for Cunard. Which begs the following questions:

1. Is it appropriate to offer a significant contract to a ‘Producer’ who has NEVER produced a theatrical production before?
2. Is it appropriate to offer that opportunity to this supposed ‘producer’, before considering other legitimate Producers? One of whom recently installed your highly successful, most recent production and has also been highly active in pursuing further productions for Cunard?

Those two precise points were HUGELY HIGHLIGHTED in the formal complaint made, yet apparently had NO relevance to the investigation. 

THIRDLY BULLYING AND BREACH OF CONTRACT:

The investigation discovered no evidence of any wrongdoing. Which in no uncertain terms implied I entirely lied about these allegations. 

How did they come to this conclusion?

Did they:

1. Speak to any of the individuals who would back up my allegations from the interactions: the Musical Director, the Sound Engineer, the Director or the Choreographer? NO. Not even one. So, WHO did they speak to? They spoke to David Webster and the Cruise Director, who would naturally deny it, as that served their purpose, and they were the ones at fault.
2. Did they look up the live messaging correspondence between the Cruise Director and David Webster at the time of the meeting in question? Unknown – as this was confidential to their investigation. If they did, then this was an in-house cover up. If they didn’t, then why not? I suspect because they wouldn’t like what they would discover. 

The information and evidence of their ENTIRE INTERNAL investigation was regarded as having to be confidential because it served THEIR purpose. The ONLY REASON for an investigation to remain confidential is to hide any unfortunate findings. 

——————————

After all this, I still had one remaining responsibility with Cunard. I still had to fulfil installing “Top Hat” on the Queen Elizabeth. I have little doubt that there was immense discomfort in this being the case for Cunard and Headliners. 

Knowing that they had little choice in following through with this, otherwise it would put the entire show at risk, how did they make their power known?

Simply, blatantly and very clearly: They would withhold all owed payments. They would withhold all payments due from the exact period I was making the serious allegations. Thousands and thousands of pounds of payments. They excused this ‘payment issue’ as being a necessity to act against fraud. For the payment to go through, I had to receive a call from their Florida Head Quarters to ensure that all the bank information I had provided was correct. The same banking information that they had, had for a LONG time. This was a call that didn’t come for FOUR MONTHS! 

For the record – in the entire period up to this point, whereby we had received HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of POUNDS of funds when required to install the two “Top Hat” productions, no such call was necessary, yet suddenly now it was. Phil stated he was powerless in making any interjection. It took almost FIVE MONTHS to get paid. 

Phil’s response when I asked him to get involved:

“Unfortunate not as they need to follow process to stop fraud.”

Yet interestingly the funds came through promptly when they needed to cement our involvement in the next install a few weeks later. When there was a similar issue in getting paid after this second install and they needed to wrap things up quickly, Phil’s response was:

“Hi Barry, the team will process this as a priority, and we will ask to get it added to top of list with accounts.”

It was at this point whereby I lost a certain respect for Phil Yeomans. Added to the fact that he had tried to defend David Websters actions in the same one on one meeting, whereby he couldn’t recall the diversity figures, a mere few weeks after a THOROUGH investigation, about this EXACT issue. 

Phil knew precisely what Cunard was playing at here. Which was:

-Let it be known to the small production company, that unless we played ball, they would withhold crucial funds.

It was disgusting and remorseless in Cunard’s hardball tactics. The result of which simply made me more determined to make Cunard accountable for all their disgraceful misconduct. 

SO HOW BLATANT WAS THE NEPOTISM?

Cunard’s Development Department and Headliners had been highly secretive and quiet about Julian Bird being offered the huge production contracts. We only learnt of them indirectly, through an onboard choreographer, whom during the previous install revealed that Julian Bird was scheduled to install his productions immediately after we disembarked. 

This got revealed because there was some confusion, as they had not confirmed any cabins required. 

Julian had been contracted to produce TWO full scale productions and FOUR 15-minute filler shows. 

(Filler shows being what they present to fill time when needed). 

If everything went to plan, they would then be given the contract to produce the shows for the much-anticipated new ship: Queen Anne. 

This was absolutely HUGE.

At no point did anyone that we had been working with closely for 5 years, have the decency to inform us of this. Why? Because they ALL knew it was dodgy. 

And the nepotism ran deep. I subsequently learnt that Julian’s production partner in all this, was Julians husband: Ben. Ben up to this point was an actor. I had met Ben on a few occasions, and he was a very nice guy. 

That aside, neither had CREATED production shows ever in the past. Julian was an Executive and Ben was an Actor. Yet now they were Producers, Creatives AND Directors all in one! Huge positions that they had little to no experience in. 

Shockingly, things didn’t go to plan!!!

We were told that Julian and Ben’s install had been significantly delayed. 

KM, with his loose lips, informed me later that the delay was because the sets that had been built for the show, were too HEAVY for the ship and so couldn’t be used. Hence, just as they were planning on installing their shows, they were now having to re-design their entire show. A task that would normally require up to a year. 

I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing. How did it ever get so far as to have FULL theatrical sets built, at major expense, only to be unusable?

However not only was time now a major factor, but there were also no funds left. So, the answer was to abandon any set and merely use drapes. 

The reason this is even more flabbergasting, is that for “Top Hat”, we had to have numerous development meetings with Headliners re: the sets. To make 100% sure they were approved. This involved not just weight, but also safety, quality and design. This involved travelling down to the set builders in Norfolk, with a Headliners representative in tow, to 100% ensure this DURING the build. Months and months of meetings and checks, because it was necessary. 

So how had an entire set been built, for a hugely high-profile show, at a cost of approximately £50,000 or more, been approved?

• Could it be that the Branding department, in their inexperience, had little clue?
• Could it be that Julian Bird, in his inappropriate experience, have little clue to this major issue?
• Could it be that had Headliners been involved, as they were every step of the way with “Top Hat”, this would have been pulled up very early on?
• Could it be that had they an experienced cruise ship set designer involved, as we made sure was with “Top Hat”, this would have been pulled up very early on in the development process?

The answer to ALL the above is YES!

Then there was the SECOND major issue. No orchestrations or backing tracks had been delivered. Making the production impossible to present. Apparently, they had not been created. By the time this aspect was realised, again the budget had been spent. How expensive can orchestrations and backing tracks be you might ask? Well over £35,000 is the answer. As well as a significant amount of time.

I was informed by Keith Myers, that their second production, to be directed by Ben, was installed with such delay, that Ben was no longer now available to go onboard to direct, as he had to honour his panto obligations. 

It’s fair to say that this was an unmitigated disaster. 

Subsequently their agreement to produce further productions for Cunard, in which included producing the new shows for Cunard’s new ship, Queen Anne, were quietly cancelled. The two delayed productions that did get installed, due to being fully paid for, are now presented rarely due to, to be kind, below par! Or as certain individuals at Headliners team put it:

“They are even more old fashioned than the shows we presented in the 80’s” 

“They will no doubt quietly fall by the wayside, with little fuss, in order to protect those higher up’s involvement”

Sadly, this in-house protectionism seems to work, as all the Executives involved, are still in charge, with little to no accountability. 

This is an in-house Executive Team of Branding and Entertainment, that has single handedly lost their hugely well received West End show, as well as funding two hugely expensive original productions that are perceived as almost unpresentable, within a matter of months! 

Did Cunard learn from these calamitous mistakes? 

Of course not. The same Branding Division individuals that made these mistakes, costing Cunard hundreds of thousands of pounds, are the very same individuals still in charge. 

All of which was avoidable. This wasn’t misfortune. This wasn’t bad luck. This was incompetence and arrogance with horrendous management and misconduct. For such a scenario to be able to happen at a supposedly renowned iconic company that is Cunard, is for one reason and one reason only: It is rotten from the very top down. 

————————————-

One good thing that did seem to come out of all this, and I would like to think partly due to me highlighting these ugly aspects, is that they were forced to take the appropriate steps in then planning for their future entertainment onboard their new ship: Queen Anne. 

They were forced to seek outside production companies, that could hopefully and fairly, pitch for these future Queen Anne productions. 

If only we had been included in that fairness.

———————————————

With all this in mind, for me, it soon became time to head back down to Southampton and rehearse the latest “Top Hat” cast for the Queen Elizabeth. Due to past circumstances, the stress and anxiety this presented was immense. I told myself it was a necessity to meet my contractual obligations. Knowing just how difficult this may have been for all involved, it would have been reasonable for Phil and Adam to have shown their support and for us all to have met early on to clear the air. 

Yet throughout the entire 10-day rehearsal period, no one from Carnival House or Headliners made any effort to meet. I saw Adam only in passing to exchange a ‘hello’. It was as if nothing had ever happened. It was bizarre to say the very least. 

It also struck me how some of the individuals that I had directly mentioned in my formal complaint regarding the racism and the bullying, behaved when we saw each other. They behaved totally normally. Also, as if nothing had happened. I saw the Musical Director and the Choreographer/Casting guys, and they greeted me perfectly normally. It was only when I bumped into the other Musical Director, that had been present during the whole David Webster fiasco, whereby I offered my apologies to him for having to have been involved in the no doubt uncomfortable internal investigation situation, where it became apparent, he had no idea what I was talking about. 

I soon realised that the reason everyone was acting perfectly normally, was because none of them had any idea as to what had been going on. No one had been questioned in this apparent thorough investigation. Surely that couldn’t be the case, that Cunard would so blatantly WHITE-WASH to such a degree. 

I started to investigate how thorough this promised thorough investigation had been, and spoke with several of the individuals who should have been involved: 

1. The Casting Director/Choreographer that was responsible for future diversity casting decisions and named in my statement re: Racism. He had NEVER been approached. 
2. The Musical Director that stated: “Cunard don’t employ Black Actors because it’s distracting for the audience”. He had NEVER been approached. 
3. The Musical Director that had witnessed David Websters bullying and insistence to be in Breach of Contract. He had NEVER been approached. 
4. The caretaker director, Keith Myers, who was present throughout. He had NEVER been approached.

In fact, NONE of these individuals had any idea that any investigation had ever been conducted. I was dumb founded. 

Nonetheless, I still had to focus on the rehearsals. My relationship with Keith Myers, the caretaker director, was becoming more and more frayed. He continued to offer little direction and refused to use the detailed DSM book of the show, instead spending the limited rehearsal time, re-blocking the show. 

The time I would spend trying to achieve the best performance from the actors, one by one the performers informed me that KM would wait for me to leave the room and then tell them to disregard what I had just said. The hugely uncomfortable position that this put the actors in was about as unprofessional and unacceptable as any behaviour I had ever experienced in a rehearsal room. 

Most notable was the inappropriate attention he was giving to one of the young dancers. This was a talented young man that had also been entrusted to play one of the best character roles. 

(As the cast didn’t have enough actors, each cast only had four, the smaller roles were played by the dancers). 

KM rebutted any notes I would give to this performer. He had clearly become quite fond of the young lad and was trying to show off his directorial prowess. Even though he would offer little in this department and ignored the fact that all the while I was there, his ‘caretaker directorial role’ was to support my decisions. Hence, he would have to wait till I wasn’t present, to then tell them to ignore whatever direction I had given. The confusing, unprofessional and uncomfortable position this put the cast in was unacceptable on every level. Yet he continued to do so, even after I specifically asked him to stop. 

Just as I had asked him numerous times to stop his relentless sexual innuendos. 

With all these factors now in play, I somehow managed to get through the rehearsal sessions, albeit with discomfort, but got through the Southampton rehearsals, nonetheless. 

=====================================

Then came the onboard install. There was some personal disappointment, in that the Queen Elizabeth “Top Hat” install was directly over the Easter Holidays. However, this couldn’t be helped. It was also a long distance away, with the embarkation in Manila, capital of the Philippines. I arrived a day early as instructed, during which time I found myself with an ear infection. Knowing the limited ability of the ships medical centre, I arranged to see a doctor the next morning in Manila, to get the appropriate medication. 

With my hotel being just a few miles from the ship terminal, I was not prepared to find myself in the position of almost missing the ship, as the traffic was so horrendous, I was still a way away having spent almost 2 hours in traffic, going just over a mile! This was no one’s fault but my own. 

This was also when Adam was invaluable. I called him to let him know my predicament and he very calmly and efficiently made sure that the ship was ready for my late arrival. I felt terrible, knowing that this was a no, no for the cruise lines, but Adams response was phenomenal and his help in correspondence with the ship enabled my ability to embark at the very last minute. I was mightily impressed and grateful for his support when very much needed. 

It reminded me of the many different aspects of Adams job. If this was a well-run company, Adam really shouldn’t have to be so responsible in such matters, as it no doubt took away from several of his other crucial roles. This is a prime example of a big multi-national company, trying to save costs, not understanding how detrimental those cost savings can be. 

As a Producer, I fully understand the importance of balancing the books. Making the product as streamlined as possible – without affecting the product. Unfortunately, in my belief, for companies such as Cunard, they are following a FAILED strategy of doing this by massively cheapening their product. Cunard used to be a name associated with quality, tradition and excellence. Now they have become a company that has lost its quality and excellence. 

Cunard has predominantly become a higher quality P&O Cruise ship, because many of the divisions between the two cruise lines were now run by the same people. When the supposed ‘luxury’ cruise line is just a mere fraction in size of the more budget cruise line, then the LARGE majority of the time spent, is on the more budget cruise line. The result is that Cunard may look like Cunard on the surface, but dig a little deeper, and they have largely become more aligned with the P&O Cruises line, rather than a once celebrated Icon.   

With this being the sad reality, it will not be long before Cunard’s clientele starts to realise this. Or even more problematic for Cunard, will be when any new clientele they are desperately trying to attract, having experienced other cruise lines, quickly realise that they are being short changed, and that Cunard are living on borrowed time, as this supposed iconic brand. 

By which time, Cunard will be incapable of addressing these issues, as it will come at too much expense. 

Cunard’s latest ship, Queen Anne, was launched in 2024, at a cost of $600 million. Time and time again the reviews highlight the tiny, budget ‘shower’ rooms, the IKEA like quality, inadequate wardrobes and the lack of dining options in comparison to other modern luxurious cruise line vessels. Cunard fool first time passengers by stating they have numerous dining options – what they fail to make clear, is that 90% of the passengers onboard, aren’t high class enough to eat in the better restaurants, because only the 10%, the rich Upper-Class passengers, are admitted!

I state this fact, because that is precisely the circumstances I came across. Headliners, ‘Cunard’s’ Entertainment Division, as well as ‘Cunard’s’ Branding Division, work between both major cruise lines: Cunard and P&O Cruises. Hence the very individuals that are making the Entertainment decisions for Cunard, don’t have the time to even go onboard the Cunard ships they are responsible for, because their time is largely taken up with the far larger, and in their eyes more important, P&O brand! 

What evidence backs this up: Phil Yeomans never once saw ‘Top Hat’ onboard either the Elizabeth or Victoria. Why? Because he was too busy launching the two new mammoth P&O ships. 

And it shows!

—————————————–

But again, I sidetrack. Back to my responsibilities. The install of “Top Hat” went largely smoothly in most aspects. The only main areas of concern and discomfort came almost solely from Keith Myers. 

There were two issues: 

The first came from a cast dance member late in the evening. Her parents were on board, which meant she would often be socialising in the public areas somewhat late. This was not a problem on the most part. I enjoyed her parent’s company, particularly her father’s, who was very much out of his comfort zone. He was a very down to earth chap and would openly speak of his discomfort at the ship’s clientele. They were not his ‘type of people’, as he liked to put it, but on the most part he was surprised at how much he was enjoying the experience. It always gave me great pleasure to see people enjoy cruising more than they expected to. He planned on cruising again – just not on Cunard!

The unfortunate incident occurred when his daughter, the cast member, was chatting with the two costume department individuals outside on deck. Each enjoying a late-night drink. I sat down to join them, whereby they began to criticise a fellow cast member. This was a direct consequence of experiencing KM’s conversations, whereby he would do precisely this. I know this because they directly referred to it and I personally witnessed it. 

My response was immediate and direct. I let it be known, in no uncertain manner, that it was profusely disappointing and inappropriate to talk about any fellow cast member in a derogatory manner. Let alone in front of their Producer. That is unless the cast member was causing any harm to others. He wasn’t. He was just young, inexperienced and away from home for the first time. This is when you rally in support – not be openly judgemental.

I whole heartedly disapproved and by all three of them behaving in this way, the only individuals that came across in a negative fashion, was themselves. Whereby they tried to use KM as their excuse. 

I reiterated it was highly inappropriate and said goodnight. 

It had clearly got back to Cunard’s full-time choreographer, who had no doubt been told to make things as smooth as possible, whereby the next day he tentatively asked if all was, okay? I saw no reason to escalate the situation and eagerly moved on. 

My disappointment was sincere, but the damage had been done. As in most business’, leading by example was everything. If the Director or Leading Actors behaved badly, you are thereby giving full permission for the entire company to behave badly. As soon as that happens you are laying the groundwork for a very unhappy company. By enabling this, you are cruelly destroying any opportunity for this company of performers, that you are responsible for, in not only having the best possible experience, but indeed likely experiencing the exact opposite. Which I find unforgivable. 

The second incident was of the greatest concern and involved Keith Myers directly. I had become aware that he was showing a considerable interest in one of the young dancers. The cast member involved had already been on my radar as I had heard he was struggling. This was quite common, as often a young performers very first job, may be on a cruise ship. Whereby they would have to endure an arduous rehearsal period, and then must embark on a six-month period, far away from home, in inexperienced surroundings. It was a lot to ask and invited vulnerability. 

We had been made aware that this performer was experiencing significant vulnerable moments. When these situations arise, you make it known that you are there for them in the best way possible. KM was there for him in other ways. 

After we had completed a successful technical and dress rehearsal, the entire cast did a phenomenal job in delivering two first rate, first night performances to the passengers. They were terrific. 

After which, as I would always do, I treated the entire company, musicians and crew, to drinks in the Yacht Club. Everyone would be welcome up until the curfew time of 1am. At this time, I left the party and enjoyed some ME time. I would often find a quiet place at the front of the ship and stare out to sea, enjoying a night cap. Which is precisely what I did. It had been an unusually strange experience, and I was aware that this would quite likely be my last Cunard experience. 

I savoured the good aspects I loved about being out at sea. 

To this day, I can remember being a 14-year-old boy on holiday with my family. I used to love staring out to sea, as the vessel majestically cut through the waves. As a 50-year-old man, I still get the same delight. 

The only difference being, when I was 14, I wondered if I would ever be enjoying this experience with someone by my side. I was lonely and I yearned not to be.

As a far older man, I still experience loneliness, I just knew that, that is a feeling for all and everyone at times. I don’t think I was experiencing loneliness at this very moment. But I knew I was alone.

After about an hour I took myself to bed. I soon realised that I had left my mobile phone in the bar. It was around 2.30am. I went back to the Yacht Club to discover a most uncomfortable sight. There, on the dance floor, was KM and this young, vulnerable dancer. KM had one hand on the young performer’s backside, holding hands with the other. They were slow dancing to the music. There was one other cast member present, as well as the full time Cunard choreographer, and a few other Cunard employees. 

It’s fair to say I was sickened by what I saw. I was somewhat dumbfounded that in today’s day and age, an influential Cunard Director, in his 60/70’s, would deem this inappropriate behaviour acceptable. 

To be clear: This was an influential Cunard Director in his 60/70’s blatantly fondling and cozying up to one of his inexperienced, vulnerable performers, in his 20’s. 

Let alone, it was happening in front of numerous senior Cunard full time Headliner employees. All of which were around him. 

I retrieved my phone and stood outside the bar by the escalators, questioning myself as to what to do. 

I decided that it would most likely cause more harm than good, if I made a point of it there and then. Which was the last thing I wanted to do. 

On returning home I found myself still sickened by the situation and unable to ignore it. At the same time, I was aware of all the accusations I had made towards Cunard previously and did not want to give the impression that I was just looking for trouble. 

After much thought I decided that the best course of action was to communicate directly with KM. I sent him a message detailing everything that made me profusely uncomfortable, and let it be known every aspect of his behaviour that I deemed inappropriate, unprofessional and unacceptable. Due to the seriousness of the matter, I stated that I would not make my thoughts known to Cunard, knowing the extreme damage it could cause to him personally, but hoped this would be a warning to stop any such similar behaviour again. To a degree, I knew that KM was from a bygone era and most likely ignorant to his behaviour. That’s not to say that his behaviour was in any way acceptable, just a sad reality. I did quietly speak to the performer the next day after the incident, without putting him in a further uncomfortable situation, and it seemed that no harm had occurred.  

My only request to KM in my correspondence, was that he no longer had anything to do with ‘Top Hat’ moving forward. How he relayed this to Cunard was up to him, but I personally didn’t want him to have ANYTHING to do with ANYTHING I was involved with. 

Should he not accept these terms, I would immediately pass on my correspondence to Cunard and Headliners. 

KM chose to disagree with my opinion and he himself personally went to Adam. As I stated to him, I subsequently sent my correspondence, in full, immediately to both Adam and Phil. I received ZERO RESPONSE. 

Instead, their response has been for KM to still work for Headliners, just with P&O Cruises. He currently directs the children’s entertainment productions on board! 

On disembarking my final Cunard ship, quite possibly EVER, I couldn’t help but look back and ask myself, could things have been different? How well had I handled all these situations? Could I have handled things differently? Better maybe? 

It was a horrible position to be in. 

There was one glimmer of hope. After I left the installation of ‘Top Hat’ on the Queen Elizabeth, I learned that, due to the disastrous work of Julian Bird for Cunard (and I would like to think after my highlighting of the NEPOTISM situation), as I wrote earlier, Cunard were finally taking the appropriate step of allowing a number of outside production companies to pitch show ideas for their new ship: Queen Anne. 

I received an email from Jenna Whorton, head of Branding, for SilverBlue Entertainment to pitch our ideas. I felt a glimmer of hope in that Phil assured me it would be a fair pitch, even though I was sceptical due to my uncomfortable findings and current relationship with the company. My scepticism also came from that in the same meeting with Phil, he assured me that they had, had a thorough investigation regarding all previous matters and discovered nothing. 

I did try to remain optimistic and positive, hoping that should I be offered any further contract, I could try to ensure advancements would be made from the inside… maybe?

Looking back as I write this, it strikes me how yearning one can be, that things may just work out. It’s amazing what you can try to tell yourself, having worked so hard to be where you are. All I can say, is that I tried and tried and tried. 

I was informed of the opportunity to pitch just TWO WEEKS before Jenna requested, we did a ‘feather pitch’ first, before the full-on pitch. I was a little surprised by the lack of time and knew in the back of my head, that I had been brought to the party late. Jenna assured me that I would have more time to work on a more detailed, in person pitch, as the feather pitch was just for them to get an idea in advance of what to expect. 

I had indeed been brought to the party very late, compared to other production parties. This was now just a matter for them to tick boxes and to protect themselves.

But I put my head down and got to work. 

For those not aware of what a ‘feather’ pitch is, as I wasn’t before now, it was a light pitch before the main pitch. It was to offer a simple summary.

The feather pitch was to be done over a zoom call with six of the individuals involved in making the decision: Jenna Whorton, Adam Jenkins, Phil Yeomans, Lee Powell, Andrea Lenihan and Catherine Robey. 

I was relieved to see that David Webster would not be present. Well…

…until the zoom call began. Even though David Webster had clearly and DELIBERATELY been left off the list of individuals I would be pitching to, when the zoom call began, the VERY FIRST person I was required to say hello to: was DAVID WEBSTER. 

I was shocked and belittled at this action. The discomfort and inappropriateness at being put in this position was disgraceful. I knew there and then this was a game to them. At least Phil looked profusely uncomfortable. 

I took a breath and was determined to fulfil my job. I had worked too hard not to. I politely said hello to David, followed by the rest of the group, one by one, as requested. 

I presented the 5 shows I had pitched to a FEW of them previously, though not all of them, hence I included these ideas, as well as SEVEN other show ideas. I ‘feather pitched’ EXACTLY what they had asked for. 

I came off the Teams Meeting call and felt sick to my stomach. The deliberateness in trying to belittle and discredit me was palpable. 

It took just two days for Jenna Whorton to get back in touch, relaying to me that I had been rejected. 

Jenna’s Email is below in which I have responded in CAPITALS after each point: 

“We appreciate the time and effort it takes to do a tender. However, on this occasion we will not be moving you on to next stage of the process’. 

JENNA HAD PREVIOUSLY TOLD ME THIS WAS JUST A PRELIMINARY FEATHER PITCH. 

“I appreciate you may want to understand why this decision was made therefore I have provided some key points of feedback below:

•            We felt these titles had been pitched to us before and didn’t hit the brief of delivering a step change for Cunard and their entertainment offering.”

I HAD ONLY PITCHED PREVIOUS IDEAS TO A FEW OF THEM. IT WAS ONLY APPROPRIATE FOR ALL TO BE AWARE OF WHAT WE WERE OFFERING.

I ALSO PITCHED A FURTHER SEVEN IDEAS. 

•            “We struggled to get a feel for the shows themselves as there was no presentation to support in the session, this is something that was delivered by other people in the process”

I WAS CLEARLY INFORMED BY JENNA NOT TO GO INTO DETAIL AND TO SAVE THIS FOR THE FORMAL PITCH. I WAS EVEN ENCOURAGED TO DO THE FEATHER PITCH VIA ZOOM, NOT IN PERSON! THIS WAS CLEARLY TO SET ME UP FOR FAILURE COMPARED TO THE OTHERS, WHO WERE NO DOUBT ENCOURAGED TO PITCH IN PERSON.

•            ‘Although we appreciated the quality of named shows pitched, they did feel dated (singin’ in the rain) or not appropriate (Avenue Q) with our operational processes and restraints’

APPARENTLY MASS TONY AWARD NOMINATED HIT “AINT MISBEHAVIN” and the legendary “PHANTOM OF THE OPERA” ARE ALL INAPPROPRIATE AND DATED!! 

•            “Four queens – as an original idea we didn’t feel enough information was giving for us to base a decision on, visuals of some sort would have supported here”

AGAIN, I WAS DELIBERATELY TOLD NOT TO GO INTO MUCH DETAIL. PLUS, THERE WERE SIX OTHER IDEAS!

It is fair to say, and I feel no shame in stating, that their plan worked. I did feel immensely DISRESPECTED and BELITTLED. Every single person in that feather pitch knew full well I was never going to be given a remote chance of ‘WORKING FOR CUNARD EVER AGAIN’. Just as David Webster had THREATENED. He no doubt enjoyed every second.

The whole experience made me feel utterly depressed for the first time in my life. The only person who was too ashamed to be a part of it, was Adam Jenkins, who acknowledged I was the only feather pitch he avoided to attend. I was also the ONLY one of the four production companies that failed to make it to the formal pitch!

Within weeks I had SHINGLES! 

(Shingles is a painful condition by the same virus that causes chickenpox. The main symptom of shingles is a painful, blotchy rash on 1 side of the body. It can also affect the eyes. You experience pain, burning or tingling. A red rash begins a few days after the pain, with fluid-filled blisters that break open and crust over. You can also experience a fever, headaches and fatigue. It is generally caused by stress).

I experienced all these conditions, which my doctor confirmed. 

In Cunard’s eyes: How DARE I question THEM! And we will publicly embarrass you to make it very clear who the POWER is here. 

One thing I was damn sure of, was that I would NEVER step foot on a Cunard ship again. I also wanted to make sure that no show of mine would ever be presented on board a racist, nepotistic, bullying and rotten company ever again. And that also meant “Top Hat”. 

Due to the incompetence of Cunard, I informed them that they had not legally gone through the right channels to continue presenting “Top Hat” and we will hence be pulling the show with immediate effect. “Top Hat” was banned from playing another performance. 

Furthermore, I channelled my anger and upset by spending the next few weeks putting together a FULL account of everything that had occurred.   It was a 56-page document, that will be attached to the end of this book relaying every detail. It was sent on June 26, 2023. 

Due to the serious nature of all the allegations, I received a letter from Harbottle and Lewis stating that a further investigation would be held. I was then told I would be contacted by HR to offer my account within the next 3 weeks. 

Four weeks later I received correspondence from H&L, instructing me that the INTERNAL INVESTIGATION had found NO findings to back up my allegations. 

No one at HR ever got in touch with me for the investigation to offer my account.

As far as Cunard were concerned: Case Closed! 

AND THAT IS WHY I HAVE WRITTEN THIS BOOK. 

            ——————————————-

FINAL THOUGHTS

In writing this account of my experience with Cunard, I spoke to many, many individuals. On the most part, those people wanted to stay anonymous, in fear of the repercussions, which I have respected. 

What struck me most from my conversations, was how little these employees enjoyed working for Cunard. Nearly all felt over worked and under appreciated. This is not the case for all cruise lines. 

Without a doubt, cruise lines in the past have garnered reputations for abiding by their own set of rules. Often not having to abide by the rules of the countries that they are associated with, as their ships are listed to overseas territories, such as the Bahamas or the Caymans. 

As is quite often, serious crimes go unreported. Crimes such as rape, theft and even murder. Cruise lines will go to serious lengths to keep these crimes under wraps. 

What was the most worrying, was just how blatant and constant, serious injustice would occur, again and again, without remorse or consequence. Hence, by this very nature, it attracted a certain type of person that thrived under this environment. Of course, the majority of employees would be good and decent, but would be scared into silence. Scared by the magnitude of consequences that they would undoubtedly be put through, unless they towed the line. 

Unfortunately, as is human nature, when someone has to endure abuse, they will often go on to abuse themselves, as they regard this as part of the process. When those that are willing to stand up to such injustice, get openly punished, yet can ill afford to lose their jobs, their income that pays for their mortgage and their family, their choice to make a stand, often is too hard to handle. And the injustice continues to thrive. 

So how do we go about change? Well, that’s the conundrum. 

In my humble opinion, change can only truly occur, if those at the very top, those with the greatest responsibilities, the privilege of having other peoples lives in their hands, are willing to make the difficult decisions. And that means being willing to look at some ugly realities. 

When ‘Internal Investigations’ are being held in secret and kept confidential, a company such as Cunard may believe that they are protecting themselves, which in the short term, they no doubt are, but they are also protecting the wrongdoing. 

Cunard may believe that they can hold an investigation and then act accordingly in house. What I witnessed, was the exact opposite. It allowed those that caused the harm, to feel protected. 

A public investigation erases any possibility of that happening. Why do I firmly believe that? Because if there was a public investigation, do you think that the following would have occurred:

1. Do you think that if the 3 senior employees that made racist remarks and observations, not then be spoken to for the investigation, be acceptable?
2. Do you think that the Executives that made the hugely costly decisions to have completely inexperienced people produce their main stage productions, which were subsequently disastrous, still be in charge?
3. Do you think that a Director that was profusely inappropriate, time and time again, witnessed by all who had worked with him, now be working on their current children’s entertainment?
4. Do you think that if independent contractors that dared to point out serious allegations, only to then be threatened with legal action, by London’s premier entertainment lawyers, unless they towed the line, happen? 
5. Do you think that if a senior Executive threatened an independent contractor to never work for Cunard again, unless he ignored his legal responsibilities, be fully supported?
6. Do you think that Nepotism would go ignored?
7. Do you think that a contractor would be publicly humiliated without consequences?
8. Do you think that Senior Executives would be allowed to brazenly lie without remorse?

The answer to every one of these questions is UNDOUBTEDLY NO! 

All these HUGE FAILINGS have gone ENTIRELY UNRECTIFIED. 

And why? Because Confidential Internal Investigations are not there to make a difference – they are there to hide the problems. Of which it is clear to see, there are many. 

And these are not minor problems – these are serious, SERIOUS PROBLEMS. These are problems that MASSIVELY affect peoples lives. Decent peoples lives.  

The other most affected in all this, by not facing up to the truth, is one of the United Kingdom’s most celebrated and iconic brands, that is Cunard Cruise Lines.

What I do know – is that the general public are willing to forgive those that face up to their misdemeanours, when they are open and honest. We are less willing to forgive, when deliberately misled and lied to, with great lengths taken to cover up such serious allegations. 

CUNARD IS AN ICONIC BRAND THAT IN MY EXPERIENCE HAS LOST ITS WAY. 

CUNARD is also a company that I was so very proud to have had the privilege and opportunity to work for. Somewhere along the line, I lost that pride. I hope that one day, that PRIDE can be restored. Until then, I will sadly remember:

MY HELL ON CUNARD.