MORE than ninety years after the sinking of the Titanic, the cast of a Preston stage show have set up a book of remembrance -- which, when complete, will go down to the ship's resting place at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Actors from Imagine! Productions, which is to perform Titanic -- the Musical at the Charter Theatre from November 22-28, have been trawling over memorabilia about the doomed voyage, with the help of Steve Rigby, a former member of the British Titanic Society.

Now Steve has agreed to take their messages on his next journey to the ship's resting place, 963 miles north east of New York, at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, next year.

Steve said: "I have already been down once, and I am going down again next year in the research ship, Mir 1. I will be taking this book down with me as a symbolic gesture, but I will bring it back up again."

Artistic director for the show Andy Vitolo and company manager Alison Clayton met Steve, from Wigan, as part of their research.

"The meeting was absolutely surreal," said Andy. "Here was a man who has studied the subject intensely and has met a number of the survivors and their families and been to the bottom of the ocean and seen Titanic first hand.

"He showed us video footage of the ship and you could see the captain's bath and the ship's bow. He has superb photographs and artifacts from Titanic and I felt so honoured to see these."

During the meeting Steve told them historic details about the disaster including the tragic tale of the late Eva Hart, who survived in one of the lifeboats, and later described hearing people's cries in the water once the ship had sunk, and the silence about 15-minutes later.

The casts enthusiasm has even caught the eye of actor/director, Sir Richard Attenborough, who has written to Andy to offer his support.

In a letter Lord Attenborough states: "It really is so heartening to hear of companies such as Imagine!, not afraid to push the boundaries and rise to every challenge.

"How fortunate is Preston that you offer these wonderful opportunities."

Photographs of Titanic will be exhibited at the theatre foyer along with copies of posters used to advertise the doomed White Star Line voyage, which set off on its maiden voyage to New York on April 10, 1914. Five days later it collided with an iceberg and sank. Around 1,500 passengers and crew perished.