{"id":206699,"date":"2025-06-23T03:33:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T03:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/206699\/"},"modified":"2025-06-23T03:33:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T03:33:09","slug":"tina-the-tina-turner-musical-birmingham-hippodrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/206699\/","title":{"rendered":"Tina \u2013The Tina Turner Musical, Birmingham Hippodrome"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the opening moments of Tina \u2013<\/strong> The Tina Turner Musical, it\u2019s clear this is no ordinary jukebox show. Yes, the hits are here \u2013 and delivered with roof-raising energy \u2013 but beneath the glitter lies a jagged emotional core. This is a production that asks its audience to navigate domestic violence, racism, abandonment, addiction and suicide attempts, all while being invited to cheer, clap and sing along. The result is, at times, electrifying. At others, deeply uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

Since its West End debut in 2018, Tina has remained remarkably consistent in its structure and staging. In some respects, this fidelity is a strength. The show\u2019s refusal to soften or censor Turner\u2019s traumatic past continues to feel bold, especially in a musical theatre landscape that often leans towards the palatable. In other ways, though, it reveals limitations. Seven years on \u2013 and following Turner\u2019s death \u2013 the production hasn\u2019t meaningfully evolved in its storytelling or tone. What once felt confrontational and fresh now, at times, feels static \u2013 constrained by a script that hasn\u2019t quite kept pace with changing audience expectations around how trauma, race and resilience are explored onstage.<\/p>\n

The first act barrels through Turner\u2019s early life, establishing her troubled upbringing, her discovery by Ike Turner, and their volatile professional and personal relationship. The scenes of abuse \u2013 physical, emotional and psychological \u2013 are not brushed aside. They are brutal, repeated and, at times, shockingly explicit. On one level, this is commendable; the creative team has clearly resisted sanitising Turner\u2019s reality.<\/p>\n

However, the impact of these scenes diminishes with repetition, particularly due to the staging. The physicalisation of violence is unconvincing in execution. Rather than drawing us into Tina\u2019s suffering, these scenes risk pulling us out of the narrative altogether, undermining the emotional weight they are meant to carry.<\/p>\n

That tonal discomfort is further compounded by the demands of the jukebox musical format. One moment, Ike is hurling vile abuse; the next, Tina is belting out a showstopper beneath glittering lights. It\u2019s hard to know how to feel and the production doesn\u2019t always guide its audience smoothly through these emotional gear changes. <\/p>\n

The second act, mercifully lighter in tone, charts Tina\u2019s comeback in the 1980s \u2013 a more conventionally satisfying arc, but one that lacks the urgency and dramatic intensity of what came before. The pacing slows noticeably as we watch her struggle to secure a record deal. While it\u2019s an essential chapter of her story, it lacks the emotional heft that preceded it.<\/p>\n

Stepping into Tina\u2019s shoes is no small task \u2013 not only must the lead portray a global icon, but she must do so in the shadow of a string of powerhouse performers who have previously knocked the role out of the park, from Adrienne Warren and Ruva Ngwenya to Elle Ma-Kinga N\u2019Zuzi. <\/p>\n

Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy takes on that challenge with poise and commitment. She very much embodies the physicality of Turner\u2019s energy and mannerisms \u2013 the strut, the shoulder rolls, the defiant stance \u2013 and holds the stage with a commanding presence. Vocally, she handles most of the material with confidence, though there is a noticeable struggle during \u2018Private Dancer\u2019. Unfortunately, technical issues with the standing and handheld microphones \u2013 used to emulate Turner\u2019s signature performances \u2013 are uncomfortably loud and harsh, particularly in the higher registers. This inconsistency distracts rather than amplifies her performance.<\/p>\n

Supporting performances are similarly strong. David King-Yombo\u2019s portrayal of Ike Turner walks a careful line. The character is, rightly, monstrous, but there is often a sliver of the charisma and pain that made him initially alluring, both to Tina and to early audiences. Other standouts include Tina\u2019s mother Zelma (played with icy detachment by Letitia Hector) and the comic foils provided by her future manager Roger Davies (Isaac Elder). These characters add much-needed texture, even when the script doesn\u2019t explore them in depth.<\/p>\n

Visually, the production remains slick and effective. Mark Thompson\u2019s set and costume design is dynamic and often dazzling \u2013 particularly in the climactic concert sequence \u2013 while Bruno Poet\u2019s lighting heightens both spectacle and sorrow with sophistication. The continued use of projected video backdrops adds atmosphere in places, grounding us in Turner\u2019s shifting world, but at times feels overused \u2013 particularly in scenes that call for intimacy or restraint.<\/p>\n

Musically, the band is outstanding and the iconic songs are mostly deployed with intelligence \u2013sometimes advancing the story, sometimes pausing it for pure spectacle. But the inconsistent microphone mixing remains a recurring technical issue, undermining key vocal moments and emotional nuance.<\/p>\n

Read: <\/strong>Theatre review: Dear Evan Hansen, The Alexandra, Birmingham<\/a><\/p>\n

Though this is not the strongest showing of Tina to date, the energy in the Birmingham opening night crowd was undeniable \u2013 audience members could barely wait to leap from their seats to give a standing ovation. In a show about survival and reinvention, one wonders whether the musical itself is due for a reinvention of its own.<\/p>\n

Tina \u2013 The Tina Turner Musical<\/a>, Birmingham Hippodrome<\/strong>
Book: Katori Hall, Frank Ketelaar and Kees Prins
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Choreographer: Anthony van Laast
Set and Costume Designer: Mark Thompson
Musical Supervisor: Nicholas Skilbeck
Lighting Designer: Bruno Poet<\/strong>
Sound Designer: Nevin Steinberg<\/strong>
Orchestrator: Ethan Popp
Projection Designer: Jeff Sugg
Hair, Wigs and Make-up Designer: Campbell Young<\/strong>
Fight Director: Kate Waters
Intimacy Support: Ingrid MacKinnon
Cast: Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy, David King-Yombo, Martin Allanson, Bree Smith, William Beckerleg, Rushard Chambers, Claude East, Isaac Elder, Georgia Gillam, Letitia Hector, Kyle Richardson, Gemma Sutton, Viquichele Cross, D\u2019Mia Lindsay Walker, Kane Matthews, Daniel N\u2019Guessan-Lopez, Alana Robinson, Sedona Sky, Richard Taylor Woods, Charlotte Elisabeth Yorke, Loren Anderson, Ella Howlett, Eleanor Morrison-Halliday, Max Mulrenan, Tom Self, Toby Shellard, Chloe Angiama, Chizaram Ochuba-Okafor, Shaniyah Abrahams, \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tina \u2013 The Tina Turner Musical will be performed at Birmingham Hippodrome until 27 June 2025 before touring nationally. <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From the opening moments of Tina \u2013 The Tina Turner Musical, it\u2019s clear this is no ordinary jukebox…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,748,393,4884,80444,10921,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-206699","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-ignite","13":"tag-national-tour","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114730578973530408","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}