Cruise ships have shed their reputation for cheesy, sequin-heavy variety acts and are now staging serious, high-production theatre, including the Olivier award-winning musical Come from Away and Emma Rice's acclaimed Brief Encounter. Industry figures say purpose-built onboard theatres, some seating up to 1,000 people, now rival or surpass many London venues in technical quality, and the shift matters because it is bringing established theatre-makers and new audiences together at sea rather than confining ships to old-fashioned lounge entertainment.

Producers involved include David Pugh, who has staged Brief Encounter and the RSC's The Constant Wife on Cunard ships, while Cunard is now the "headline partner" of the Olivier awards and Peel Entertainment recently ran a new-writing competition for Ambassador Cruise Line that drew 260 applications. Where cruises once offered only a handful of performances weekly, ships now run multiple shows daily, from repertory companies to visiting immersive productions such as Peaky Blinders: The Rise and Doctor Who: Time Fracture, drawing guaranteed audiences of 600 or more per performance, including many people new to theatre.