Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera]
“A bonkers but brilliant show packed full of madcap humour”
I have to admit to being fairly sceptical ahead of seeing a show about former Prime Minister Tony Blair. I asked myself, do I need to sit through a potentially politically charged look at one of the countries most infamous leaders, however I need not have worried! This is a bonkers but brilliant show packed full of madcap humour.
Firstly, I must applaud the incredible cast who worked so hard throughout, each taking on multiple characters and bringing such hilarity to the auditorium. Tony Blair is played by Jack Whittle and every feature was totally spot on, from the voice, to the mannerisms and of course the famous smile. Whittle completely commanded the stage and brought Blair to life through a string of funny dialogue and many comedy songs, including ‘I’m Gonna Be Somebody’ and ‘She’s a Lady / He’s My Baby’. Ably assisted by Toni Burgess as Cherie Blair, the power couple were out in full force. Burgess played Cherie with a heavy Liverpudlian accent and as a woman who knew what she wanted in life.
Now, the star of the show for me was Howard Samuels who plays Peter Mandelson, Dick Cheney and Alastair Campbell. It’s hard to capture into words his performance, but I think comic genius covers it. Whether it was breaking down the fourth wall handing an audience member a balloon animal (yes, it really was this bonkers!), or his extremely camp portrayal of Peter Mandelson, he was a complete stand out.
Alongside Tony Blair during his time in Government was Gordon Brown. Phil Sealey certainly bought Brown to life on stage and his delivery was completely perfect, including the funny mouth movement Gordon Brown is pretty well known for……if you’ve not guessed already, this show had me laughing throughout!
We meet other characters during this whirlwind look at Tony Blair’s career and the many major world disasters he dealt with. John Prescott (Rosie Strobel), Neil Kinnock (Martin Johnston), Robin Cook (Sally Cheng) and Princess Diana (Emma Jay Thomas) made appearances throughout, alongside the likes of George W. Bush, Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein (who bore an uncanny resemblance to Groucho Marx) and even Mick Jagger (William Hazell), Tony Blair’s rock idol.
Written by Harry Hill and Steve Brown, this is by no stretch a show for anyone easily offended as the subject matter can be dark with the mention of world disasters and war, however it is written in such a brilliant way and there were often a few gasps from the audiences, and I do admit to putting my head into my hands on a few occasions, not quite believing what I was hearing. No-one does this kind of humour like Harry Hill and after seeing his previous hilarious musical ‘I Can’t Sing’, I knew it would be full of quirky and bizarre moments.
The staging by Libby Watson greeted us with the name ‘TONY!’ in big red letters adorning the top of the set, with two red door frames to the side with many spotlights (lighting by Mark Dymock) that delivered a lot of red lighting…..you get the theme right? Of course, this transferred to the costumes (Caroline Hannam), where all performers were dressed in black suits, white shirts and red ties, a clear nod to their Labour roots.
The music was provided by 3 talented musicians who sat in full view at the back of the stage under the Musical Direction of Tara Litvack, with Ben Udon on Guitar and Harry Bent on Drums. There were many musical numbers during the show encompassing a whole spectrum of rock and pop music and they were delivered extremely well.
This show is in no way endorsed by Tony Blair himself, but I did come out thinking “I wonder if he has ever snuck in the back at some time to watch the show”. I’m not sure what he would think, but as a piece of satirical political comedy this show delivers on all levels and I was in fits of laughter pretty much throughout. We learnt all about Blair from birth (cue the puppet baby!), his arrival at Oxford University, his move into politics and finally becoming the Prime Minister for 3 terms, making him the Labour party’s longest-serving Prime Minister. There were many scandals throughout his time in power and whether you agree with his decisions at the time, they were moments in history that most of us lived through.
With the evening ending with us all singing and clapping to “the whole wide world is run by arse-holes” with jazz hands aplenty, by the end, the complete mad nature of the show became almost normal, and I was still singing whilst walking out of the theatre…….because let’s be honest we all need something to smile about whilst living in this rather crazy world!
With an incredibly talented cast, this show is not one to be missed. Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] is currently on a UK tour with a stint at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival between the 2-27 August 2023. It’s not one for the faint hearted, but I can guarantee you a fantastic night out!
Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] runs at Birmingham REP until Saturday 10th June 2023. Tickets available here: Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] | Birmingham Rep (birmingham-rep.co.uk)
Full details of the tour can be found here: TONY! The Tony Blair Rock Opera – The new Tony Blair musical touring the UK in 2023
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Photo credit: Mark Senior
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