TONY! The Tony Blair Rock Opera
Liverpool Playhouse
If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you crossed The Book of Mormon with Spitting Image, and then added a smidge of Harry Hill’s TV Burp insanity, then Tony! The Tony Blair Rock Opera has the answer! Telling the story of former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s rise to power, and his transformation from pop-rock hippy front man of Ugly Rumours to a warmongering multimillionaire, this hilarious musical comedy is written by Harry Hill and Steve Brown.
From the moment Tony Blair was born on the stage, complete with a stuffed toy-esque baby body, we knew that this was going to be a wild ride!
The highlight of this show is undoubtedly the cast. Their caricature performances of everyone from David Blunkett and Neil Kinnock to Princess Diana, Liam or Noel Gallagher (we’re not entirely sure which one!) and even Gaddafi and Suddam Hussein are all absolutely fantastic, with every key mannerism perfected.
Jack Whittle as Tony Blair and Tori Burgess as Cherie Booth/Blair deliver an absolutely world class performance. They totally encapsulated Tony and Cherie, whilst also maintaining the typical Harry Hill slapstick humour across sex scenes and even a pregnancy reveal using an air bag. As the titular character Tony Blair is rarely off stage, but Jack Whittle maintained his high energy performance throughout.
Another stand out performance was from Howard Samuels as Peter Mandelson, Alastair Campbell and Dick Cheney. Bordering on Pantomime Dame for his portrayal of Mandelson, before donning a kilt as Campbell and declaring to the audience that he’s not happy about it, Samuels appears to steer the comedy within the show and naturally becomes the focus of every scene he is in.
Martin Johnston’s performance as George W Bush is also worth an individual mention. He is every stereotypical, boisterous, American politician within a comedy setting, yet also feels quite new with an additional depth where you almost feel sorry for Bush. Almost.
The scenery used within the show is simple but very well utilised. We particularly enjoyed the use of the Number 10 door on wheels as an effective way of showing the public performance versus the behind closed doors, inner workings of the party. By simply turning the door around, the scene was set with no additional set required.
The costumes are minimal, with the majority wearing a simple suit and red tie which gives a very cult like feel to proceedings. Additional costumes are often just worn over the top of the suit and tie combo. Where the costuming comes into it’s own though is with the wigs and facial hair. The variety of wigs is impressive, but they all worked for the specific character. The Cherie Booth/Blair wig and the Groucho Marx themed Saddam Hussain facial hair were our favourites and complemented the comedy perfectly.
The music and lyrics by Steve Brown are matched perfectly to Harry Hill’s comedic moments, but the songs also shine on their own. They’re not only catchy, but they hold their own weight in a way that some musical comedies fail to achieve. This show doesn’t feel like it’s a comedy that has added a few songs or a musical that has added some comedy, there is a true partnership between the two elements. With songs including one about Gordon Brown’s famous Macroeconomics speech that is quite and achievement! The stand-out song is undoubtedly the finale The Whole Wide World which brilliantly wrapped up the show with a rather timely reveal.
But within all of the comedy moments, there is an underlying sombre reminder of the ugly truth; Tony Blair took the UK into three wars during his time as Prime Minister and led the country through some of the most significant moments in recent history, including the death of Princess Diana and 9/11. These moments are given the space they need and aren’t rushed through in a way that they become overshadowed. Instead, they provide a respite from the comedy and give the audience the time to fully appreciate the implications of what is being shown. This is most prevalent when Tony asks who put him in power, and points out that he was voted in three times, even “after Iraq”.
This entire production is joyous. We laughed so hard we were physically hurting by the interval. Whilst you definitely need to have an awareness of the Blair era Labour Party, and of politics in general, to understand some of the jokes anyone who lived through the period should have enough of an understanding to enjoy the show. If you’re a fan of slightly inappropriate jokes that walk a fine line between tasteless and hilarious then this show is for you.
The UK tour ends at the Liverpool Playhouse on Saturday 14 October, which is perfectly timed with the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. Future performances will be detailed on the Tony! The Tony Blair Rock Opera website. We would highly recommend this show and hope another tour isn’t too far away as this is a great night out at the theatre.
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