Tina Turner: The Musical That Was Simply The Best 😊❤️🎭

Hello world! Welcome back to another blog. In this blog I will be talking with you through my experience of watching Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at the Theatre Royal Concert Hall Nottingham on 30th July 2025.

This jukebox musical tells the story of the iconic singer that is Tina Turner, from her early years in Tennessee, the highs and lows of her journey to the icon that she had been remembered for to this day. 

How I’m going to do this review is based off of my own research as well, as before the show I didn’t know much about Tina’s backstory to get to where she is today, but through the show I managed to get an insight into what happened, as if I’m travelling through time. So I will be talking about each character as if I met the actual people from the story. 

Georgia Gilliam took on the role of the legend that is Tina Turner. She was also an understudy, and as mentioned in previous blogs, without understudies there would be no show. I loved her interpretation of the character, and her voice is just amazing. I would say that Tina would be looking down and thinking how proud she would be for Georgia to tell her life story. I also loved her sassiness when it came to getting what she wants, which tells me that Tina wouldn’t take no for an answer. I also admire her for not only interacting with the audience during her songs, but to also do a number of costume changes on stage, which also represents going through time. 

Chizaram Ochuba-Okafor, who played the younger Anna Mae Bullock (Tina’s real name), was adorable to see. I loved her cheeky bright personality, which tells me that Tina’s passion for music came at an early age. And her voice, particularly in the curtain call, for someone of her age was off the scale. 

Sedona Sky, another understudy, took on the role of Tina’s sister Alline. Despite what happened in Tina’s early years, it’s obvious Alline still thinks the world of her. And I loved the on stage chemistry between Sedona and Georgia, signifying that the relationship between Tina and Alline in real life was a strong one .

Claude East took on the role of Tina’s grandma Georgeanna aka GG. I loved the on stage chemistry with her and Georgia, and it tells me that she had been more of a parent to Tina than her own flesh and blood. But she could also see that she wanted her to reconnect with her mum, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to look after Tina forever, but to also follow her career of being a singer. She played a crucial part in Tina’s story, and she wouldn’t have had the success to try if it wasn’t for her grandma. 

Letitia Hector took on the role of Tina’s mum Zelma. From the performance she gave, it tells me that Zelmas relationship with her husband (Rushand Chambers), affected the way she lived her life. And maybe the reason why she was tough on Tina was just to protect herself, and Letitia did it really well. And even on her deathbed she treated Tina like an outsider, despite her success.

Kyle Richardson took on the role of Ike Turner, who was also an understudy. You know when you do a character well, when the audience boos at the curtain call. And I could tell by the smile on his face that his inner monologue was saying “yep I’m not surprised at all!” Lol  But in all seriousness his research into the man who was horrible to Tina but also a figure who made her the woman she was remembered for was very well done, showing that you should never judge someone before you get to know them. It also tells me that there’s always a reason why someone is the way they are, and after Ike mentioned his background life, I can see where all that lent up anger came from. And the trust he and Georgia must have to choreograph the stage fights is impeccable, and they pulled it off effortlessly. 

Daniel-n’guessan-Lopez took on the role of Raymond Hill. What this character tells me was that he definitely shows Tina kindness when Ike showed his dark side to her and everyone else in the group. I also loved his chemistry between him and Georgia, particularly during the number "Let's Stay Together", symbolising what could’ve been a beautiful and more healthy relationship. 

Gemma Sutton took on the role of Tina’s first manager Rhonda Grimms. I absolutely loved the onstage chemistry between her and Georgia, which tells me that in real life Rhonda and Tina also got along despite Ike getting flirty with her (although I do blame him for it and not Rhonda). And the moment where Tina stated why she needed to go with Roger (which I’ll mention in a moment) showed the sisterly relationship they had. 

Isaac Elder took on the role of Australian manager Roger Davies. He may have been a cheeky quirky kind of guy, but his passion to help Tina was genuine. And you know when you’ve got a good person, when you quit your company after members like Phil Spector (Martin Allason) revealed the real reason why Tina wasn’t signed to capital records in the first place (which was horrid but also sad that it actually happened). And his role also told me that after Tina made it clear that she doesn’t want people to think what she needs and that she wants to make her own decisions, he definitely listened, took it on board, and it was all worth it. 

Finally William Beckerleg took on the role of Tina’s second husband Erwin Bach. He also definitely did thorough research into this character, as he was able to show me that despite the age gap, he shows Tina how to be loved properly. I get why Tina initially rejected him after what happened with Ike, but towards the end after realising who her real family were, he made her see that he is part of that family. 

The songs in the show are of course going to be good. Some of them I’ve never heard before like “Open Arms”, and some of the iconic's I tapped my foot to. These included “River Deep Mountain High”, showing that Tina found her voice, “Proud Mary” where I need to learn the dance moves, and “Simply The Best” at the end of the show where the whole audience joined in. That song in particular very nearly made me cry with tears of joy, as not only did it feel as though we were in Tina’s concert itself (well done Georgia for making us feel that way), but this song was also a symbol of all the suffering and trauma being worth it. 

I think the downsides weren’t to do with the show itself, but more about what went on around the show that happened. One thing that did come as a surprise was the show having to stop (and I saw a backstage crew member go on stage) which was something beyond the company's control. But thankfully after a couple of minutes it went back on and like the true professionals they are, the actors dusted themselves off and carried on. But what annoyed me were two things which could’ve been controlled. The first thing being that multiple phones were not turned off, and someone in the audience shouted something during a silent moment. For me that’s disrespectful and whilst I didn’t intend to (as I didn’t want to cause drama) in my mind I wanted to give him a real talking to about respecting actors. 

Overall I would give the show a full house aka a 5 out of 5. It was nostalgic, it was emotional, and to see the journey from the young girl in Tennessee to the legend she was remembered for was “simply the best” gift to see.

And that was it for my review of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. See the link below to the tours website to book a show in a city near you.

Tina: The Musical | Official UK & IRELAND TOUR 2025

Please also see a vlog where I take you on a trip to see this amazing show itself.

https://youtu.be/-5mFXlqGTG0?si=-fJCrXkp_1w6WjXN

See you soon for another blog. Until next time…

This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)