★★★★☆
If you never had the chance to see Tina Turner live, this UK tour musical is the closest you’ll get. Tina is a full-bodied celebration of her voice, her spirit, and her story.
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd, with a book by Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, and Kees Prins, the musical shows only a part of Tina’s life, which makes sense given that she was involved in creating the production from the very beginning through to its West End opening in 2018. The show traces her journey from humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee, to her transformation into the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll”. The story does not simply share her success and iconic music, but it shows the major challenges she had to overcome to finally become the independent Tina Turner.
Yet, if you’ve read her full biography, you know she went through much more – from a severe stroke to other serious illnesses, none of which appear in the show. Still, after witnessing all the events covered on stage, it is hard to imagine that there is more struggle in one’s life. This is why it is quite difficult to label the musical as it is neither purely a drama nor a straightforward success story. It sits somewhere in between.
On stage, it looks like a familiar plot: a girl from a small town leaves everything behind, heads to a big city, and builds her way to stardom. But what makes it striking and fascinating is the simple fact that this “standard story” is a real journey of a real woman.
Emotionally, this production gives you everything. Did I cry? Yes. Did I laugh? Also yes! It runs slightly long – almost three hours, but you are always entertained and captivated and never bored. Starting from the glittery costumes and crazy hair (set and costumes designed by Mark Thompson, wigs, hair and make up designed Campbell Young Associates) and finishing with wonderful musical accompaniment (supervised by Nicholas Skilbeck, with sound design by Nevin Steinberg, and orchestrations by Ethan Popp), it all creates a show that feels like a great hit.
The way the show places Tina Turner’s iconic songs into the narrative is particularly neat: no extra words were needed as the songs said everything. It even made me wonder whether these songs were shaped by her life, or do they simply fit her story so naturally that they feel autobiographical?
Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy as Tina is impeccable: she managed to capture the young woman who loved singing and moving for the sheer joy of it, without arrogance or career obsession so naturally, that you would think that she really enjoyed being on stage and had time of her life. Her facial expressions are sincere, detailed, and full of life and energy. Both her and David King-Yombo (playing Ike Turner) look remarkably close to the real figures – enough for the audience to boo Ike’s character at the end of the show, which David accepted as the best possible compliment, given the way Ike’s behaviour is portrayed.
In a nutshell, this musical contains far more layers than you might expect. You can watch it for the emotional depth and reflection, or simply enjoy it as a vibrant, high-energy show. Either way, it delivers and leaves you impressed.
Tina – The Tina Turner Musical runs at Palace theatre Manchester until January 3 and tours the UK until April 4, before transferring to Theatre 11 Zürich, Switzerland (the country where Tina spent the latter part of her life) from April 14 to May 3.
Photo: Johan Persson
JADAR 