There’s nothing to dislike about one of our best know comedians HARRY HILL, his cheery smile and extra large collars have brightened up our screen for many a long year. Now, along with his writing partner STEVE BROWN, he’s turned out a new musical based on the life and times of one of our, shall we say not as well liked as Harry political figures, Tony Blair.
Actually this isn’t just a musical, it’s an all out singing, dancing comedy filled fest. TONY! THE TONY BLAIR ROCK OPERA opened last night at the New Theatre in Cardiff and we were there to catch the first Welsh performance after its rave reviews during its London run.
First of all, here’s what some of last night’s audience thought of the show, along with one of the cast, ROSIE STROBEL, who plays John Prescott and a host of other characters.
There are so many well known names portrayed in this production, and not all of them as you would expect. All the Labour party regulars are there – John Prescott, Peter Mandelson, Alastair Campbell. Then there’s a cast of other well knowns including Cherie Blair, Osama bin Laden, George W Bush, Saddam Hussein and we even have a Princess Diana.
This is like a cross between Yes Minister meets Spitting Image meets Rocky Horror, meets Question Time, meets Hamilton (really), meets – well, you get the idea by now. I think it’s fair to say this is our most unique musical experience we’ve had this year.
Then of course we have the star of the show, Tony Blair himself, played brilliantly by JACK WHITTLE. From start to finish Jack maintains that trademark Blair smile and while it’s not an out an out impression, I completely bought into his interpretation of Mr B.
If you were around during the Blair Years, much of what you see on stage will be familiar, if you weren’t, then don’t worry. With Harry Hill at the helm the show is funny, irreverent and filled with some brilliant one-liners.The music too from Steve is as quirky as you’ll find anywhere. We get Cherie doing a foxtrot, Alistair Campbell doing his thing in a kilt, but my most lasting memory is the all singing and dancing dictator that is Saddam Hussein, his routine is one of the stand out moments for me.
If you weren’t one of ‘Blair’s Babies‘ – that’s a real thing for those aged 27 to 40, who came of age while Tony Blair and New Labour were in power. Then as funny as this show is, you may not want to take it back into your history class as a point of reference. Although factually, as much as I can remember, pretty much everything we saw on stage did happen under Blair, minus the singing and dancing.
But who knows what really went on behind the doors of Number 10?
As soon as you walk into the auditorium you see the stage, set like a classic rock-musical set with gigantic light-up letters TONY hanging above the black and white checked dance floor aka political chess board. Add to that disco lights, smoke machine and live band, and you get a thoroughly enjoyable show all round.
A little word of warning – although no matter what I tell you I guarantee when the show starts, with a mighty bang, you will jump out of your seat – I apologise to the lady in front of me for many ‘holy crap’ yelling when it happened. Incidentally, they’ll get you again at the start of the second half.
In their entirity the cast are superb. The full cast is Jack Whittle as Tony Blair, Howard Samuels as Peter Mandelson, Tori Burgess as Cherie Blair, Phil Sealey as Gordon Brown, Martin Johnston as Neil Kinnock, Rosie Strobel as John Prescott, Sally Cheng as Robin Cook, Emma Jay Thomas as Princess Diana and William Hazell as on-stage cover.
I do just want to give a mention to Howard who keeps us thoroughly, and cheekily entertained with his performance and occasional asides to the audience.
The cast glide with political ease from their main characters into a host of other well known, occasionally not very well liked faces – including Saddam Hussein, Liam Gallagher, Alastair Campbell, Osama Bin Laden and many more.
The show moves along at one hell of a pace, just short of an hour for the first half and around 50 minutes for the second act. In that time we are taken from the birth of Blair right through to his ‘billionaire‘ self now.
The routines are hilarious, and brilliantly choreographed, the songs will be instantly familiar, even though they are all brand new, and the comedy is about as edgy as you’ll find anywhere. If there’s a fine line of decency, the story occasionally took a stumble onto the dark side, and we loved it for that. Princess Diana coming to Tony in a dream sequence to offer him a massage should give you an idea of what we mean.
Perhaps you’re thinking a musical about Tony Blair isn’t for you – I can tell you now that you’re wrong. The show was a pleasant surprise on every front and one I would urge you to go and see. I don’t want to Labour the point, but it is really good and a great escape from the current messed up political landscape.
TONY! THE TONY BLAIR ROCK OPERA is at the New Theatre in Cardiff this week through to Saturday 17th June. Performances are at 7:30pm each evening with a 2:30pm matinee on Saturday. For more details and to get tickets, go HERE.
You can take a look at our original show feature and interview with writers Harry Hill and Steve Brown – HERE.
