An empowering tale of survival and success – Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

Thanks to Wales Millennium Centre for providing tickets for the purpose of this review

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical is at Wales Millennium Centre for three weeks as part of its first UK tour – and it’s an incredibly powerful production filled with the darkness of Tina’s early life as well as the anthemic musical numbers we know and love her for. 

It’s definitely not just another juke box musical, it’s a hard-hitting look at how Tina Turner, born Anna-Mae Bullock, rose to global stardom, via childhood hardship, strained family relationships, the racism of small-town Tennessee and the music industry, and 16 years of violent and terrifying abuse at the hands of her music partner and husband Ike. 

Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi as Tina is phenomenal. She gets the distinctive husky vocals and mannerisms spot on, including the star’s familiar leg movements and the way her whole body leans back with the microphone. Her every facial expression, every movement, is filled with emotion as she veers from fear and frustration to bravery, determination, and resilience. She isn’t a tribute act; she embodies Tina completely.

The audience are so invested in the performance, there are gasps at some of the violence, spontaneous cries of ‘Come on Tina’ when she begins to stand up for herself, and huge whoops when she walks away and emerges from the wreckage of her life.

I knew some of Tina’s story but didn’t realise the depths of Ike’s abuse and manipulation. I also didn’t know just how hard she had to work for her comeback solo career, as an older black woman whose musical identity was tied up with her abusive ex and their performances together. Knowing that Tina herself helped create the show makes it all the more powerful – as the programme notes detail, from day one, she wanted her whole story to be told and not just her successes. As Tina herself said on the musical’s opening night, “We turned poison into medicine”.

Ike must be a difficult part to play so credit to David King-Yombo for getting it so right. He’s menacing, controlling, and manipulative, turning on the charm when it benefits him. The violence is harrowing and deeply uncomfortable to watch, not least because everyone around Tina knew what was happening, with even her own mother making excuses for it. The choreography of the attacks is so raw, it leaves the audience in stunned silence.

The costumes throughout are brilliant. There are so many outfit – and wig – changes for the main cast, as Tina, Ike and their backing singers’ looks change over the decades. The second act faithfully recreates some of Tina’s most famous looks – the tiny black dress and denim jacket, that red leather dress, and of course the spiky 80s hair. It’s iconic.

We end with Tina heading out on a world tour, and the most spectacular curtain call of song after song where, of course, we’re all up on our feet dancing and singing. It’s the most exhilarating ending to an inspiring and humbling story of survival and strength, of one woman’s resilience against all the odds.

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical is at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff until Saturday 28 February. It’s sold out other than a handful of solo tickets. More information here.

Find out more about Tina: The Tina Turner Musical here.

Also coming up at Wales Millennium Centre:

Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes, 3-7 March

Mean Girls, 10-14 March

Barnum, 17-21 March

Priscilla: Queen of the Dessert 20-25 April

The Spy Who Came in From The Cold, 28 April-2 May

Bluey’s Big Play, 7-10 May