TINA – THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL | UK TOUR @ EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE
★★★★★
“Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi captures the ‘fire and heaven’ of Turner’s distinctive vocals…”
From the moment Tina Turner is revealed at the top of the show, the thumping baseline of Simply The Best powering through the auditorium, it’s clear Tina – The Tina Turner Musical is a production with a big sound, just as it should be.
When Tina Turner left us in 2023, the world lost its Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Thankfully, her legacy is kept alive in this biographical musical with a book by Katori Hall with Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins, which Turner herself approved.
In truth, the Tina Turner story is a dark one. From her origins as little Anna Mae Bullock, singing gospel hymns at her local church in the rural backwater of Nut Bush, Tennessee, through her parents’ split and her first meeting with Ike Turner, then from her name change to becoming one half of The Ike & Tina Turner Review, their their abusive marriage, children, and an attempted overdose, Act One is a whirlwind rollercoaster ride through the first 40 years or so of the singer’s life.
It’s a hard hitting insight into the making of a global star, here embodied by the impressive Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi who captures the ‘fire and heaven’ of Turner’s distinctive growl and dynamic vocal prowess expertly. Supported by a tight ensemble cast, it’s a powerhouse performance from N’Zuzi who is seldom off stage.
If Act One is peppered with Turner’s early releases, it is blistering renditions of River Deep, Mountain High and Proud Mary that first demonstrate the M’Zuzi’s phenomenal range and uncanny ability to channel Turner. By Act Two opener, Private Dancer, she is hitting her stride, as Tina reinvents herself having finally left the violent Ike Turner, a sinister performance by David King Yombo, in her wake.
A crowd pleasing Disco Inferno, with not one but four mirror balls transforming the auditorium, lifts the energy further before, with the help of Heaven 17 and a reluctant recording of What’s Love Got To Do It, Tina’s fortunes change for the better. However, it’s her potently emotional rendition of We Don’t Need Another Hero that proves one of two real highlights of the night; beautifully staged by director Phyllida Lloyd, it tugs at the heart-stings.
The other is, perhaps predictably, Simply The Best, as Tina takes to the stage for her 1988 Break Every Rule world tour in Rio De Janeiro’s Maracanã Stadium to perform for an audience of approximately 180,000 fans – the largest paying audience for a solo artist at a single concert, a record that’s still listed in the Guinness World Record today.
It’s the moment everyone has been waiting for and for the next three minutes, as Tina struts the stage in complete command of the venue N’Zuzi disappears, disbelief is suspended and Tina Turner herself is calling the shots; ‘Sing’ she shouts, and they do. ‘On your feet’, she encourages and they don’t need a second bidding.
The start of an explosive finale that leaves the Grand Circle bouncing, it’s a joyous end to an evening of musical theatre in which pain, injustice and adversity are overcome by the power of self-belief, inner-strength and towering talent. Must See Theatre indeed, or you could just say that Tina – The Tina Turner Musical is… better than all the rest.
The role of Tina Turner is shared by Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi and Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy on this tour
Until 22 November, tickets here.
Full tour details and tickets here.
