Tina: The Tina Turner Musical - Aldwych Theatre, London - Friday 7th July 2023

Was this jukebox musical Simply The Best? Did I leave feeling Proud.... Mary? (I know that one was a push!) Read on to find out!!

We spent our Friday night (Mama Wendy and I) rolling on the river with the icon of Rock ‘n’ Roll - Tina Turner! The show, first premiered in 2018, has been on my list to see for a while and I’m glad that I’ve finally ticked the box! A gripping real-life story, great music, highly energetic cast members and, for the first time in a while, a well behaved audience made this a most enjoyable night at the theatre!

I didn’t know much about the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s life before watching so I went in blind… all I can say is, Tina was a strong woman! The amount of abuse and hardship she was dealt from a young age was unbelievable and you could have fooled me in saying it was a fictional story. I won’t give too much away but all you need to know is that her mother and Ike Turner are now on my list of most disliked people.

The show started with a very long spiel about respecting other audience members and staff which although not necessary last night, I can see why it’s needed. It’s very sad that at this point shows are having to do this.

We had the former band member of Stooshe, Karis Anderson in the titular role of Anna May Bullock, later to be known as Tina Turner. The pipes on this woman!!!!! Wow! A powerhouse of energy, charisma and vocals all around. She had the classic Tina-isms throughout the songs but put her own unique spin on it too which was very much welcome.

The rest of the cast created the background for Tina’s life, including the absolute b-stard Ike Turner, her sister Alline, Phil Spector, the a-holes at Capital Records and her long standing manager, Rhonda Graam. There wasn’t a standout performance from anyone as they were all so bloody good! Whether they were dancing to the classic tunes of Tina, belting out their own song or giving a real emotional performance in a scene, all the cast should be applauded for the work they are doing.

The young cast members playing Young Anna May and Young Alline are truly the stars of tomorrow! They kept up with the energy of the adult cast members with ease and Young Anna May’s vocals are a force to be reckoned with!

I found the arrangements of Tina’s back catalogue to be refreshingly unique and not just a carbon copy of the original track like other jukebox musicals tend to do. I’ve now got the soundtrack saved to my Apple Music library and will be listening to it on repeat, however I’m very sad it’s not this cast on the album.

Overall I’d highly recommend this show to anyone who is a fan of Tina Turner and to be honest, anybody who isn’t!! I really hope to see it again in the future!

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