TINA – The Tina Turner Musical @ Festival Centre, Adelaide 30/4/2024

An enthralling and superbly produced portrayal of the life of Anna Mae Bullock – aka Tina Turner. A flawless performance from the start to its spectacular finish!

The first half of the show transitions from the early years as an eleven-year old singing at her father’s preaching sermons, through her relationship with Ike Turner and their eventual separation. I wasn’t aware of Anna Mae’s early life and the violence and physical abuse endured by her mother and younger sister, Alline, at the hands of her father. Anna Mae spent several years living with her grandmother, then eventually sent back to her mother and sister when she was sixteen.

It was here that the, literally, life-changing event of meeting Ike Turner at The Manhattan nightclub occurred. The widely publicised violent relationship was very well portrayed, and gave us an insight into the life she was subjected to for over sixteen years.

The second half concentrated on how she struggled to survive while attempting to build a solo career. Again, there was a lot about this part of her life that I wasn’t aware of – including her Australian manager and a pending relationship with Capitol Records’ marketing manager. There was considerable angst as she searched for “the” song which would save her from bankruptcy and losing everything. As we know, she found that song, and the rest is history.

Tina Turner had a very long career filled with numerous lows and thankfully, many highs after the mid-1980s. I was curious as to how they would fit it all into one show! It was brilliant how the producers “interrupted” some of the many classic songs with several interludes of what was happening in her life at the time, allowing several years to be covered off nicely.

There was a lot of drama, moments where you could hear a pin drop, and some timely comedy thrown in at just the right time. The lighting was exquisite and quite immersive on occasion. I was impressed with how the constantly changing stage sets were transitioned so effortlessly and smoothly.

When looking at the bio’s of the cast members I was surprised to learn that many are Australian – must say they did an outstanding job with the accents! Tina was performed by Melbourne-based Ruva Ngwenya with Zimbabwean heritage, and her voice is outstanding. Young Tina / Anna Mae was played by last year’s youngest ever grand finalist of Australia’s Got Talent, Sienna Katelyn Desmier. Adelaide’s Nadia Komazec had the role of Tina’s long-time friend and manager post-divorce, Rhonda Graam. There are too many cast members to cover off here, but they were all exceptional.

The audience was treated to many of the classics from the Ike & Tina Turner era and her greatest solo tracks. Amongst them were the obvious ones River Deep … Mountain High, Proud Mary, Private Dancer, What’s Love Got To Do With It, a cover of The Trammps’ Disco Inferno, and of course, Nutbush City Limits and Simply The Best.

If you have even the faintest knowledge or interest about Tina Turner, or Ike & Tina, then TINA: The Tina Turner Musical is a must-see! This is one show I would be very keen to see again.

Theatre Review by John Glennie