A biomusical that stumbles into all-too-familiar tropes, but centred around a magnetic voice that keeps you hooked.

The bio-musical is a well-tread type of theatre. Across all media, the journey of an artist from relative obscurity to fame has been repeatedly demonstrated. Narrative structure classes should discard the hero’s journey and replace it with a checkmark every time an artist refuses to comply with their manager's instructions (and what use is a manager anyway?)

The recent success of musical biopics on-screen has proved a frustrating trend. When you’ve seen Bohemian Rhapsody, you’ve seen Rocketman, and Elvis, and A Complete Unknown, and I Wanna Dance With Somebody, and you get the idea.

It’s come the time that the trailer for the upcoming Bruce Springsteen flick, Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, had me rolling my eyes at another small town kid who defies expectation and makes the music he wants to make, consequences be darned! It gets too repetitive.

Photo by Johan Persson

While I haven’t seen a stage show recycle these tropes, I admit to feeling trepidation as I sat down to watch TINA: The Tina Turner Musical. It feels harsh to say my fears were vindicated, but the narrative does tend toward a perfunctory sense of going through the motions.

Tina Turner (Bree Smith) begins as a rambunctious child at church, played to perfection by young performer Chizaram Ochuba-Okafor, before quickly growing older and meeting Ike Turner (David King-Yombo), who will become the dominating force in her career for much of its duration.

Act One is the build and subsequent disintegration of Tina and Ike’s marriage, as the vindictive man turns violent time and time again. While I wish we had seen further internalisation for Tina beyond being a victim in that relationship, it does a succinct job of making the audience rally behind and root for the singer. 

Photo by Johan Persson

Act Two sees Tina finally leave the brutish relationship. Still, the problems I face with a biopic structure repeat themselves when we see Tina struggle to prove herself as a solo artist after having struggled to prove herself as half of a duo. Repetition to the point of boredom.

Act One also suffers from leaving most of the big hits - “Private Dancer”, “What’s Love Got to Do With It”, “(Simply) The Best” are saved for the second half, and aside from the energetic opening number “Nutbush City Limits”, the staging isn’t entirely gripping.

Photo by Johan Persson

Now, all of my criticism is out of the way, because I need to discuss what shapes this show, and that has to be the monumental performance at its heart.  Bree Smith is the alternate Tina, but is nonetheless mythic in the portrayal of the legendary rock figure.

What makes biomusicals stand out from biopics is how electric the music can feel on stage, compared to the static lifelessness that the big screen can offer. Smith takes you right to the heart of Tina and makes you feel every performance. Her voice is magnetic, powerful, and unparalleled.

While the story may have frustrated me with its by-the-books nature, ending the show with a spectacular performance that knocks down the fourth wall and turns Mayflower Theatre into a buzzing concert is a perfect way of ending it, and the trifecta of “(Simply) The Best”, “Nutbush City Limits” and “Rolling on the River” lit up the whole room, and had everyone on their feet dancing, clapping, and singing along.

And for that moment, all of my previous hang-ups were washed away. The show became worth it for that alone.

Photo by Johan Persson

While my cynicism was eventually won over, other audience members may not have those same problems at all. It isn’t quite the light jukebox musical that perhaps people might hope for, but there’s plenty of heart to TINA, and that’s enough for me to dismiss any part of its impact.

TINA: The Tina Turner Musical plays at Mayflower Theatre until the 18th of October, and you can buy your tickets here: https://www.mayflower.org.uk/whats-on/tina-turner-musical-2025/ 

Here's an interview with the alternate Tina Turner - Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy