Tina – The Tina Turner Musical, Birmingham Hippodrome, Weds 18 June 2025, until Sat 28 June, then on tour, 5☆☆☆☆. David Gray & Paul Gray.
Tina – The Tina Turner Musical, Birmingham Hippodrome, Weds 18 June 2025, until Sat 28 June, then on tour,
5☆☆☆☆. David Gray & Paul Gray.
“A powerful and uplifting show given a knockout performance.”
This is a brave show. Tina Turner’s life was not an easy one, and its creators must be given credit for choosing to deal with her difficulties in such an unflinching way. Almost from the start, after a joyous opening number, we are brought face to face with domestic abuse, parental abandonment and racism. It is clear this is not going to be your average feel-good jukebox musical.
However, it also has light and humour, and many very uplifting moments. Because it is, in essence, about a very complex and rounded human being, and how that human being managed to integrate all of her difficult experiences and use them to develop an astonishing creative life.
An introductory passage deals with her early years. Then the musical focuses on her violent relationship with Ike Turner in Act one and, in Act two how she managed to rebuild her life and career after their separation. This is a wise choice when trying to deal with such a long and eventful life.
Much of the power of the show rests in the emotional heft of the music. So many of the songs are hits because they deal with complex human situations. This enables them to carry the weight of the drama. The writers cleverly interweave the chosen musical material into the story, so nothing seems forced or contrived; it all seems to grow naturally out of the situations and the characters’ reactions to them.
Music is used with ingenuity to move the story forward. Much of the messy narrative around the disintegration of Tina and Ike’s relationship is dealt with as we move on and off stage during a single musical performance. ‘Private Dancer’ is interspersed with conversations around her conflicted relationships with men while she struggles to survive financially. And ‘What’s love got to do with it’, which she initially hates, is brought alive for her when she encounters an emotional situation mirroring the feelings expressed in the song.
Powerful ballads are perfectly married to big narrative climaxes. And ‘Simply the best’ is the perfect triumphant conclusion to the whole show.
In terms of performance and production, the musical cannot be faulted. The staging is, on the whole, simple, which facilitates a cinematic fluidity of action. Choreography is pumped with energy but never looses its focus. Every performance is dramatically convincing, emotionally committed and vocally fearless.
However, the undisputed star of the show is Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy, who takes the roof of the theatre in the titular role. This performer totally inhabits the character and truly captures all of Tina’s vocal and physical mannerisms, while still maintaining her own musical identify. A powerhouse performance which knocks your socks off.
Cast
Tina Turner – Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy
Ike Turner – David King-Yombo
Phil Spector/Terry Britten – Martin Allanson
Erwin Bach – William Beckerleg
Richard Bullock – Rushand Chambers
Gran Georgeanna – Claude East
Roger Davies – Isaac Elder
Alline Bullock – Georgia Gillam
Zelma – Bullock – Letitia Hector
Raymond Hill – Kyle Richardson
Rhonda Graam – Gemma Sutton
Creatives
Director – Phyllida Lloyd
Choreographer – Anthony van Laast
Sets & Costumes – Mark Thompson
Musical Supervisor – Nicholas Skilbeck
Lighting – Bruno Poet
Book by Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar, Kees Prins