Tina - The Tina Turner Musical Review by Nina Jervis-Green

August 28, 2025

Thanks to Nina Jervis-Green from www.ninathewriter.com for this review.

If you want the gist of this review in one sentence, here it is. Go and see Tina!

When I say “go and see Tina,” that’s exactly what I mean. Jukebox musicals like these can veer into ‘tribute act’ territory very quickly, but not here. As the glittering star of the show, Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy doesn’t play Tina Turner, she embodies her. Not just through her powerhouse Tina-like vocals – which are more than impressive enough – but in her movement, mannerisms, and fierce, unstoppable energy.

Written by Memphis native Katori Hall and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, the story is all Tina’s. It charts her rise to iconic status from her humble beginnings in 1940s Nutbush, Tennessee, when she was Anna Mae Bullock. Chizaram Ochuba-Okafor who played the young Anna Mae, is an exceptional talent, and her gutsy performance in these early scenes set us up for the jaw-dropping story that follows.

This is a story that’s packed with emotion, not all of it positive. While many people are familiar with Tina’s abusive, much-publicised marriage to the bandleader Ike Turner, there were collective gasps from the audience as we watched domestic abuse play out in Anna Mae’s childhood home, too. There are horrific battles with racism throughout, and the controversial ‘N’ word is used more than once.

Yet threaded in with the sadness, injustice and violence are genuine bursts of wit, humour and joy that don’t just feel welcome but natural. And of course, we’re treated to Tina’s immense back catalogue of hits, from Proud Mary and River Deep, Mountain High to What’s Love Got to Do With It – and the big one – Simply The Best. The staging is simple and beautiful, and the live band pitch-perfect. All of the songs are well-timed and advance the plot, without that ‘shoehorned-in’ feel that plagues many jukebox musicals.

Not only that, but the entire cast is stellar, never once straying into caricature or overblown pathos. As Ike Turner, David King-Yombo is monstrous, brimming with self-pitying rage and dark charisma in a serious performance that felt utterly terrifying. (As a testament to how amazing he was, King-Yombo was greeted with a chorus of boos during the finale, which he acknowledged with a sheepish grin).

Once the cast have taken their bows, a sequinned MacCarthy appears on stage once again, urging the audience to our feet. Disco balls on full watt, it’s time to let loose with a medley of hits. After the emotional juggernaut we’ve all been through together, the ‘mini-concert’ feels all the more magical, and each song all the more heartfelt. It really could be Tina herself up on that stage, and the resounding cheers were louder than I’ve ever heard them before.

Without a doubt Tina is the best show I think I’ve seen at the Cliffs, and I say that without having known all that much about her, and not being a particular fan of her music. None of that matters: this magnificent show stands completely on its own.

So… go and see Tina!