Curve Theatre, Leicester – until 22nd March 2025
Reviewed by Amarjeet Singh
4****
Tina Turner, the queen of rock and roll lived a tumultuous life, full of ups and downs. Her experiences have taken her to rivers deep and mountains high. Neglected by her parents, relentlessly abused and tortured by a narcissistic husband she was on the verge of losing it all. But like the superstar she is, Tina rose like a phoenix from the ashes and reclaimed her place at the top of the charts, winning award after award and cementing her legacy as a legend in her own right.
Turner was deeply involved in the development of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, enabling us to enjoy some of her amazing songs spanning several years. Although she wanted to turn ‘poison into medicine’, ensuring her whole story is told, not just the success, the book by Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Katori Hall and direction by Phyllida Lloyd is problematic. This is a very long production, and you feel it, as certain scenes are unnecessarily included and/or drawn out. Trying to fit every significant moment of Tina’s life in, is certainly going to be a struggle, but glossing over her spirituality and Buddhism, which was the gateway to her clarity to find the strength to leave her abusive relationship was an odd choice. We have her upbringing, meeting Ike, her recording career with Ike for 2 decades, her domestic violence experiences and Ike’s philandering, leaving Ike, struggling to record on her own, then finding success again. Although the production does not shy away from showing us some of the horrific abuse she endured at the hands of Ike Turner, these are in the form of awkward artificial stage fighting. Sometimes these have sound effects and sometimes none. The production also muddies why she married Ike and glances over some of the mental anguish she endured with him. Tina herself described it as feeling like ‘I was living a life of death. I didn’t exist’, but this was overshadowed in the production by a rather flamboyant Ike, who at one point morphed into Andre 3000, taking drugs, and having a psychedelic orgy.
The linier way in which Tina: The Tina Turner Musical is told lacks creativity and some of the songs feel a little shoehorned in. Instead of being bombarded with events and superfluous characters, we could have explored the real Tina, delved into moments of tenderness such as when she had her children, or how she felt when she was finally free, or the afore mentioned discovering her spirituality and inner voice. It offered nothing more than a documentary could, with a fabulous soundtrack.
However, where the show shone was through Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy’s magnificent embodiment of Tina. She nails the performance in every way, nuance, voice and emotion. Commanding the stage with aplomb she has the audience mesmerised. Her vocals spinetingling, relishing every sequined swish and sparkly swirl. Not a pastiche but a true homage. Chizaram Ochuba-Okafor plays the young Tina, Anna Mae, beautifully, her gorgeous vocals and confident performance paired with MacCarthy’s to perfection. David King-Yombo plays Ike Turner brilliantly with equal amounts of smarm and latent menace, but the writers let him down by allowing him to descend into a caricature minimising his true threat and deplorable behaviour. Letitia Hector plays Tina’s mother, Zelma, with just the right amount of coldness and self-absorption. The ensemble are super talented, although some of the wig blending is a little questionable. The group numbers add so much to the show, making you feel like you are watching a full-on concert. The live band, vocals, choreography, lighting cues, and musical direction are amazing. Tina: The Tina Turner Musical is a performance pumped full of musical energy, and we get the full effect of this with its thrilling encore.