I got homesick for London, the city of my birth.  I fancied a trip to the West End, and just had to write a review for a musical that Sam and I went to yesterday.  Sam generally tolerates musicals for my sake, but even he said it was the best show he’d ever seen (and surprise, surprise, he never closed his eyes once and I even caught him clapping along with everybody else at one point).  I have to agree with him that this is simply the best musical I have ever had the pleasure to see!

‘Tina’, based on the life of Tina Turner, is currently playing at the Aldwych Theatre in London’s Covent Garden and has not long opened, but I can tell you it’s going to run for years.  Both the matinee and evening performances were sold out when we were there, and the members of the cast are so talented that you have just got to be there to see what we saw and heard yesterday!

 

The musical has been 3 years in the making, and the story is very authentic as Tina Turner herself is behind it all and wanted her story to be told.  Everyone is familiar with Tina’s story; how she left Ike after 16 years of abuse, so I’m not giving away any spoilers here.  In the programme there are pictures of Tina with members of the cast during rehearsals, and she still looks wonderful at nearly 80 years of age.

Adrienne Warren, who plays Tina, has a powerful voice and I’m not sure why she’s not singing her own songs and forging a solo career, as she certainly has the talent.  Kobna Holdbrook-Smith has the looks, voice and mannerisms of Ike Turner, and was so convincing that some of the audience booed him at the end, which I think was very unfair.  He has obviously worked hard to get into character, and deserves much credit for his performance.  Three girls take it in turns to play the young Tina / Anna Mae Bullock, and so I’m not sure which of the talented ones we had, but we learned of Tina’s gift even as a child, when she was the loudest singer in her church.

The music is wonderful, the cast are amazing, and you will be in for a treat.  If I could give this show 10 stars, I would!

I’ve added some other pictures of  The Strand, the Savoy Theatre, and Trafalgar Square.  In Trafalgar Square the pigeons are all but gone, and there’s a photo of a sign warning us not to feed them.  This is rather a change from when I was a child, as you could then buy bags of bird food and encourage the pigeons to sit on your shoulders.  Obviously to discourage pigeons must be a new cost-cutting exercise so that council workers who used to clean up bird turds can now be given their P45s…

Good on yer, Tina.  She has found happiness with a new husband, and I wish her much good health and relaxation in her retirement.

 

 

Advertisement