Preview: Blood Brothers at Sunderland Empire

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Bill Kenwright's legendary production returns to Sunderland Empire

Blood Brothers

Sunderland Empire

Tuesday 17 – Saturday 21 March 2026

Photos: Jack Merriman

Few musicals have endured with the fierce, tearful loyalty that Willy Russell's Blood Brothers commands. Since its premiere at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1983 — itself born from a school play two years earlier — this epic tale of twins separated at birth, class division and inexorable fate has sold out theatres on every continent, clocked more than 10,000 performances in London's West End alone, and earned the unofficial title of the Standing Ovation Musical. This March, Bill Kenwright's multi-award-winning production sweeps into Sunderland Empire for five unmissable performances, carrying with it a cast of returning favourites and fresh talent that promises to make the rafters of this magnificent Edwardian theatre ring once more.

Blood Brothers runs at Sunderland Empire from Tuesday 17 to Saturday 21 March 2026. Below, we present everything you need to know about the production — and an in-depth interview with its leading lady, Vivienne Carlyle, who has spent much of her career inhabiting the indomitable Mrs. Johnstone.

 

VENUE	Sunderland Empire
DATES	Tuesday 17 – Saturday 21 March 2026
TICKETS	From £15 at ATGTickets.com/Sunderland
WRITTEN BY	Willy Russell
DIRECTED BY	Bob Tomson & Bill Kenwright
RUNNING TIME	Approx. 2 hrs 30 mins (including interval)

 

 

About the Show

Blood Brothers tells the captivating and moving tale of twins separated at birth, who grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with tragic consequences. When Mrs. Johnstone — a young mother deserted by her husband and left to provide for seven hungry children — takes a job as a housekeeper to make ends meet, her brittle world crashes around her when she discovers she is pregnant again, this time with twins. In a moment of weakness and desperation, she enters a secret pact with her employer that leads inexorably to the show's shattering climax.

What makes the piece so remarkable is its tonal range. For all its heartbreak — and there is a great deal of it — Blood Brothers is also frequently hilarious, shot through with Russell's characteristic wit and a deep, affectionate warmth for its working-class Liverpool characters. Adults playing children, broad comedy alongside piercing social observation, and a score of indelible songs: it is a combination that has proved irresistible to audiences for over four decades.

'Considered one of the best musicals ever' — The Sunday Times. Bill Kenwright's production has been affectionately christened the Standing Ovation Musical, and inevitably it brings the audience cheering to its feet — Daily Mail.

The show's credentials are extraordinary. It has completed sell-out seasons in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan, and received seven Tony Award nominations on Broadway. It also scooped four Best Musical awards in London. Yet for all its global success, Blood Brothers retains an intimacy — a sense that it is speaking directly to each member of the audience — that is rarely found in musicals of its scale.

 

Willy Russell: A Playwright of His People

The writer behind Blood Brothers, Willy Russell, is one of this country's leading contemporary dramatists. His credits include Educating Rita — originally commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and subsequently filmed with Michael Caine and Julie Walters — and Shirley Valentine, which also transferred triumphantly from stage to screen with Pauline Collins and Tom Conti, before making a triumphant West End return in 2023 with Sheridan Smith in the title role.

Russell's genius lies in his ability to create characters — almost always working-class, almost always women — of extraordinary depth and comic richness. Mrs. Johnstone is perhaps his greatest creation: a woman who begins the story as a teenager and ages across three decades of hardship, love, loss and guilt, yet never loses the fierce, bruised dignity that makes audiences fall in love with her every night.

"It started as a play at a Liverpool comprehensive school in 1981. Now it moves the world."

 

The Production

This production, presented by Bill Kenwright Ltd, has been directed by Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright himself — the same creative partnership that has shepherded the show through countless tours and the long West End run. The Resident Director for the current tour is Tim Churchill, who also appears on stage as Mr. Lyons.

The creative team is completed by Music Supervisor Matt Malone, Sound Designer Dan Samson, Set and Costume Designer Andy Walmsley, and Lighting Designer Nick Richings. Together, they have created a production that honours the timeless simplicity of Russell's original storytelling while delivering the visual and sonic scale that modern audiences expect.

 

Spring 2026 Cast

The Spring 2026 tour brings together a company of performers with long and deep connections to this show, many of whom return to roles they have inhabited on previous tours. Sunderland audiences will be treated to a cast at the height of its powers.

 

PERFORMER	ROLE
Vivienne Carlyle	Mrs. Johnstone
Richard Munday / Kristofer Harding	The Narrator
Laura Harrison	Mrs. Lyons
Sean Jones	Mickey
Joe Sleight	Eddie
Gemma Brodrick	Linda
Michael Gillett	Sammy
Tim Churchill	Mr. Lyons / Resident Director
Francesca Benton-Stace	Donna Marie / Miss Jones
Latesha Karisa	Brenda
Danny Knott	Perkins
Dominic Gore	Neighbour
Alex Harland	Policeman / Teacher
Graeme Kinniburgh	Postman / Bus Conductor

 

Vivienne Carlyle continues as Mrs. Johnstone after gaining widespread critical acclaim and nightly standing ovations on the show's most recent tours. Richard Munday rejoins as the Narrator at certain venues, having played the role on the 2022–23 UK tour, sharing the part with Kristofer Harding, who first took on the role in 2016 and returned for the most recent 2025 tour.

Joe Sleigh, Gemma Brodrick & Sean Jones

Fresh from alternating the role of Elphaba in Wicked at the Apollo Victoria and covering Norma Desmond in Jamie Lloyd's celebrated production of Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy, Laura Harrison returns to Blood Brothers as Mrs. Lyons — a significant step up from her previous appearance in the 2015 tour as Donna Marie. Sean Jones and Joe Sleight reprise the roles of twin brothers Mickey and Eddie, and Gemma Brodrick continues as Linda.

 

 

INTERVIEW

Vivienne Carlyle on Mrs. Johnstone, the magic of theatre, and a life spent in the spotlight

 

 

Vivienne Carlyle has one of the most remarkable histories with Blood Brothers of any performer currently touring in it. She played Mrs. Lyons in 2006, understudied Mrs. Johnstone and took the lead at that time, then played Mrs. Johnstone for the Scottish tour dates in 2007 and 2008, before returning to the role for nine months at the Phoenix Theatre in London in 2012. She spoke to the North East Theatre Guide ahead of the Sunderland run.

 

 

Vivienne Carlyle & Sean Jones

 

For people who are new to the show, what is Blood Brothers all about?

Blood Brothers is by the amazing Willy Russell, who wrote the book and the music, and it's about a mother named Mrs. Johnstone who is trying to make ends meet. She's very poor. Her husband leaves her and she's left with seven children and then discovers she's pregnant again. When she finds out she's having twins, Mrs. Johnstone confides in her employer Mrs. Lyons, who is childless and who persuades her to give her one of the babies. Fast-forward to seven years later, the two boys end up meeting, and it's about their story as well as their mother's and how their lives are intertwined even though they're separated. They're brought back together with tragic results, but it's not just a heartbreaking show. There are huge comedy elements in it and you have adults playing kids, which also strikes the imagination of our younger audiences. You become connected to these characters and then you see them grow up, and you follow on their journey with them. It's a very interesting piece of theatre and in my opinion one of the best shows I've ever performed in.

What do you like about the character of Mrs. Johnstone?

I love her strength and her resilience. No matter how hard life is for her and despite her feeling guilt for what she's done, she still tries to do the best she can with as much grace as she can muster. In spite of everything that happens, she still rises up at the end. I love that and I think it's a great message for us in life because that's what we have to do. We've all had terrible things happen in our lives and it's about how we deal with them, recover, move on and live the rest of our lives.

Can you relate to her in any way?

Both of my parents were very encouraging in terms of how when you have a problem you work through it. They set the bar high for me in terms of saying 'We don't run away from our problems, we stand up to them, we do the best we can, we keep going and never take no for an answer' and all that sort of thing. I was very lucky that they instilled that in me and in that way I can relate to Mrs. Johnstone because I think I'm quite strong. I'm a feisty Scot and Mrs. Johnstone is a feisty scouser. She's a beautiful character to play.

What's your history with the show and what's it been like returning to it for the UK tour?

I played Mrs. Lyons in 2006, when Maureen Nolan was playing Mrs. Johnstone and I was also her understudy so I got to play the lead for my first time back then. In 2007 and 2008 I played Mrs. Johnstone for the Scottish dates of the tour, then returned to the role in 2012 for nine months at the Phoenix Theatre in London. Being back in the show now is just amazing and hopefully I'm bringing new things to it. You grow as a person and I feel like a completely different person now. Emotionally I would say I'm tougher in some ways and more vulnerable in others. As an actor, you use your life experiences and try and dig deep. Our director Bob Thomson wants us to be as raw, authentic and as real as we can possibly be.

What makes Mrs. Johnstone such an iconic musical theatre character?

She starts out at around age 18, so you get to play this huge arc of a beautiful story and a beautiful journey. Life keeps throwing things at her and she keeps rising. She keeps getting knocked down again but she keeps going. I think that's what makes Mrs. Johnstone so relatable because that's what we all do. People watching it — and I don't mean just women, I think it's the same with men who come to see it as well — go 'Well, that's life, isn't it?'

How's the reaction been to the show from audiences on the tour so far?

They laugh, they cry and they are very emotional at the end. It really touches people, a lot of whom come back to see it again. We get a lot of return visitors who have seen the show many times over the years. They come back, they see a different cast and they fall in love with it all over again in a different way.

What's the nicest bit of feedback you've gotten about it?

One time we were in Skegness and a boy aged around 14 or 15 had been to see it with his school the day before. He brought back his mum and dad the following night, and I was so touched by that because he had felt such a connection to the piece. He was really quite overwhelmed by it and I just felt 'How fantastic is it that the show is still relevant to this age group when, you know, there's not a mobile phone in sight and none of the technology that we have today?' because it starts in the 50s and goes through to the 80s.

Blood Brothers premiered in 1983. Why do you think it has endured for all these years?

I think the story is really unique and gripping, and the characters are very strongly drawn. No matter who you are — whether you're in your teens, your 30s, your 70s or whatever stage in life you're at — you'll come and see the show and there'll be some character in it that you can connect with. You go on this journey with the person that you connect with the most and it moves you emotionally.

Vivienne Carlyle & Kristofer Harding

How would you sum up the magic of musical theatre?

Theatre is live, so you immediately connect with it and it's got that sense of urgency. The stakes are higher when you're watching something knowing that it's unravelling in front of you. You can't press pause, which you can with streaming and things like that. Anywhere there's live theatre and live music there's a level of excitement that you don't get anywhere else. It's like coming together as a community and watching something that bonds you. And of course with a musical the emotions are heightened. As a performer, when I'm on stage it's music that moves me in an almost primal way.

What first sparked your interest in acting as a career?

My dad and gran started an amateur group in Glasgow called The Apollo Players, which is where he met my mum. I was pretty much raised in a trunk. They used to do two shows at the King's Theatre in Glasgow every year, so I was kind of weaned on musical theatre. One time they were doing Gypsy and I remember sitting in the audience, aged six or seven, listening to the orchestra tune up, then they played the overture and I just started crying. I felt so connected to it. As for what led to me taking it up as a profession, I'd gone to university thinking that acting was something I'd like to do but never imagining it would happen. Then I was cast as the principal girl in panto at the King's Theatre in Glasgow, in Babes in the Wood, and that led to other work. I eventually travelled down to London and gave myself three months, vowing 'If I haven't got anything within that time, I'm going back to Scotland'. Within two months I was the Narrator on the tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and three years later made my West End debut with Stephen Gately as Joseph.

Can you pick a few career highlights?

Doing Joseph was really special because it was my West End debut. I was a singer for Cirque du Soleil, which was another highlight, and I was Mother Gothel in Disney's Tangled: The Musical, where it was great fun playing a villain. And Blood Brothers is really dear to my heart, which is why I'm so happy to be back in the show. I'm just happy to keep working and I hope the roles keep coming in.

 

Whether you have seen Blood Brothers a dozen times or are coming to it fresh, this production offers something rare: a show in which every element — writing, performance, design — operates at the very top of its game. Vivienne Carlyle's Mrs. Johnstone has been winning standing ovations on every leg of this tour, and the supporting cast bring decades of collective experience to roles they clearly love. Willy Russell's score, from the haunting 'Tell Me It's Not True' to the irresistibly joyous 'Bright New Day', delivers the full emotional spectrum in under three hours.

And then there is the venue itself. Sunderland Empire, one of the North East's great theatrical treasures, is the ideal setting — its grand Edwardian interior lending the story of class, aspiration and fate an added weight and grandeur. Five nights only. Do not miss it.

"They laugh, they cry — and they come back to see it again. — Vivienne Carlyle"

 

How to Book

Dates:  Tuesday 17 – Saturday 21 March 2026

Venue:  Sunderland Empire, High Street West, Sunderland SR1 3EX

Tickets:  From £15 — available at ATGTickets.com/Sunderland

Note:  A transaction fee of £3.95 may apply to online bookings

News: Durham Free Fringe Returns This Summer — And It's Looking for Acts

Durham Free Fringe Returns This Summer 

And It's Looking for Acts

Durham's newest festival fixture is back and already building momentum. Durham Free Fringe has opened applications for its second edition, running Wednesday 29th July to Sunday 2nd August 2026 — and artists across all disciplines are invited to get involved.

Modelled on the ethos of the Edinburgh Free Fringe, the event operates on a simple but powerful premise: you don't need a fully-equipped venue to put on a great show. All you need is a room and an audience. By partnering with local pubs — with The Holy GrAle on Crossgate again serving as the main hub — Durham Free Fringe keeps the barrier to entry low for both performers and audiences alike. Admission is free, though audiences are warmly encouraged to donate to acts they've enjoyed.

The festival welcomes artists from across the spectrum: theatre, comedy, music, spoken word, and beyond. Shows running between 40 and 75 minutes will be programmed as standalone events, while shorter acts will be brought together in mixed-bill formats — including the returning stand-up night, (Just Off The) Bailey Banter.

Organisers are keen to stress that Durham Free Fringe is a complement to Durham Fringe, not a competitor. Artists who've applied to Durham Fringe are actively encouraged to consider the Free Fringe too — whether as a fallback if their application is unsuccessful, or as an opportunity to bring an additional show to the city.

A note for technically ambitious productions: the venues operate with basic technical support, so complex lighting rigs and full blackouts aren't on the cards. The spirit here is creative adaptability — making the most of the space you're in.

Programming begins in April. Applications are open now at durhamfreefringe.co.uk, with enquiries welcome at hello@durhamfreefringe.co.uk. The earlier you apply, the more options the team will have to offer you a good slot. 

Preview: I, DANIEL BLAKE at Newcastle Northern Stage

I, DANIEL BLAKE

Newcastle Northern Stage, 

Friday 20 March – Thursday 2 April 2026

Adapted by Dave Johns  

Produced by Northern Stage in association with Leeds Playhouse

From the Palme d'Or and BAFTA award-winning film directed by Ken Loach, written by Paul Laverty

First produced to great acclaim in 2023, I, Daniel Blake returns to Northern Stage — the theatre where it was born — before embarking on a new UK tour. Dave Johns, the actor, comedian and original Daniel Blake, adapted Ken Loach's devastating Palme d'Or-winning film for the stage, and the result remains one of the most urgent pieces of political theatre to emerge from the North East in years.

The story is a simple but devastating one. Daniel Blake is a 59-year-old Newcastle joiner who, following a heart attack, is deemed unfit for work by his doctor — yet rejected for Employment and Support Allowance by a government assessor. Caught between a system that won't support him and a jobs market he can't safely re-enter, Daniel is forced to navigate an online bureaucracy designed, it seems, to defeat him. Along the way he befriends Katie, a young single mother with two children who has been relocated from London to Newcastle, equally bruised by the same indifferent machinery. Their friendship, and their shared defiance, is the beating heart of the play.

Director Mark Calvert and lead actor David Nellist — winner of Best Performing Artist at the 2023 North East Culture Awards — both return to the production, with Jessica Johnson joining as Katie. Together they ask the question at the heart of the piece: has anything really changed?

Calvert is a working class theatre-maker from the North East, and his connection to this material is deeply personal. During the original run he visited Newcastle food banks regularly, witnessing first-hand the scale of need in the city. That experience shaped a production which never tips into sentimentality, instead trusting its audience — many of whom will recognise the world on stage — to draw their own conclusions. "This production stands as a testament to the need for realignment," he has said, "a call to keep telling these stories until our country truly supports its most vulnerable."

David Nellist is a Newcastle native, known to television audiences from Sherlock and Stonehouse, while his stage work spans West End productions including Billy Elliott, War Horse, and the Olivier Award-nominated Animal Farm. His return to the role of Daniel is a homecoming in every sense — he grew up in Wallsend and his award-winning portrayal has been described as one of the most committed performances seen on a North East stage in recent memory.

Jessica Johnson takes on the role of Katie and brings formidable credentials to the part. A Journal Culture Award winner, she is perhaps best known locally for the multi-award-winning Key Change with Open Clasp Theatre and the 40th Anniversary National Tour of Educating Rita. Her television credits include Vera, Casualty and Coronation Street. She is an instinctive, deeply naturalistic actor, and the scenes between her and Nellist in the original production were among the most emotionally charged of any show in the region that year.

Completing the ensemble are four actors who all appeared in the original run: Micky Cochrane — Performing Artist of the Year at the NE Culture Awards 2025, and a cornerstone of North East theatre for decades — alongside Janine Leigh, Kema Sikazwe, and Jodie Wild. Their collective experience and familiarity with the material gives this revival a lived-in assurance that a fresh cast could not replicate.

The creative team is equally strong. Designer Rhys Jarman, Lighting Designer Simisola Majekodunmi and Movement Director Martin Hylton return alongside Calvert to recreate a production that won Excellence in Touring at the 2023 UK Theatre Awards. At the same year's North East Culture Awards, Dave Johns took home Best Writer and Nellist Best Performing Artist — a rare double that reflected the depth of quality on and off the stage.

The statistics behind the story are hard to ignore. UK food banks distributed 2.9 million emergency food parcels in 2024–25 — a 51% rise in five years. In October 2024, around 3.2 million of the poorest households cut back on food or went hungry. I, Daniel Blake does not lecture its audience about these numbers. It simply shows you one man, one woman, two children — and what happens when the state turns its back.

Tickets:

Running: 20 March – 2 April 2026 

Box Office: 0191 230 5151

Online: www.northernstage.co.uk

Venue: Northern Stage, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RH

Preview: The Enormous Crocodile at Darlington Hippodrome

North East Theatre Guide  ·  Spring 2026  ·  Family & Children's Theatre

World Tour ★ Darlington Hippodrome

The Enormous
Crocodile

The Musical — based on the beloved Roald Dahl story

Darlington Hippodrome  |  Thu 16 – Sat 18 April 2026

🌿

One of Roald Dahl's most mischievous creations snaps his way on to the Darlington Hippodrome stage this April in a riotously entertaining new musical — bursting with puppetry, original songs, and enough comic peril to delight every member of the family.

The production brings the jungle to life through an extraordinary cast of five performers who are, quite literally, quadruple threats: singers, actors, dancers and puppeteers. At its heart is an audacious five-metre-long crocodile puppet — the creative cornerstone around which director Emily Lim and puppetry designer Toby Olié have built an entire animal kingdom.

Show Details

Venue Darlington Hippodrome

Dates 16 – 18 April 2026

Director Emily Lim

Puppetry Design Toby Olié

Box Office 01325 405405

In Conversation: Emily Lim & Toby Olié

How did puppetry become central to the show's identity?

Emily Lim: It was an epic, gradual process of working out how to make the story live as a piece of musical theatre — honouring Dahl's original while being radical where it would enhance the spirit of the material. We decided very early on that puppetry would give children in the audience the most magical, fun experience of the jungle animals. Meeting Toby and his wild imagination was a real turning point in understanding how hilarious and inspiring this dimension could be.

What were the biggest creative challenges in developing a puppet musical from scratch?

Emily: Finding the alchemy between our performers and their puppets was essential. How do these puppets sing? How do they groove? How does this particular puppet bounce around on a trampoline? Our company are amazing — juggling an extraordinary range of skills, committing songs and lines to memory while discovering all the different physical beats of each scene with their puppets. It's been a huge learning curve, and the results are spectacular.

Do you have a favourite puppet in the show?

Emily: I love them all, but there was a moment in one draft where we nearly cut Humpy Rumpy entirely — so perhaps him. Oh, and the plate of carbonara. That's a favourite.

Toby Olié: Mine is definitely the Enormous Crocodile himself. The sheer scale and playfulness of how we portray him onstage feels equal parts joyful and thrilling. The initial design concept was really the bedrock for the entire show's puppetry — it shaped how the performers would portray every animal.

Even more riotous than I could have imagined. By the finale audiences are practically dancing in their seats — and the adults are just as hooked as the children from the opening number.

— Toby Olié, Co-Director & Puppetry Designer

Is this a show for children, or for everyone?

Toby: Absolutely everyone. In puppetry it is so often assumed the work is only for children — but the last few decades have seen puppetry play a huge part in shows for the widest range of audiences. Productions that genuinely entertain and forge connections across multiple generations are wonderful things, and something I'm very proud of The Enormous Crocodile achieving. Families arrive with excited children, and by the end of the opening number the adults are just as hooked.

What should North East audiences know before they book?

Toby: Our combination of fantastic songs, hilarious anarchy and a menagerie of playful puppets keeps you engrossed from start to finish. Our cast of five incredible performers are quadruple threats: singers, actors, dancers and puppeteers — who wouldn't want to see them work their magic? And be aware — we're a deceptively big show. Our cast does feature an elephant, a hippo, and a five-metre-long crocodile.

Book Your Tickets

Thu 16 – Sat 18 April 2026  ·  Darlington Hippodrome
Call the Box Office: 01325 405405

darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk

North East Theatre Guide  ·  Spring 2026 Preview by North East Theatre Guide

 

 

REVIEW: TINA – The Tina Turner Musical at Newcastle Theatre Royal

TINA – The Tina Turner Musical 

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Tuesday 3 to Saturday 14 March 2026

I have seen enough jukebox musicals now to generally know what to expect - sparkles, fun and the odd song awkwardly shoehorned into a story. I’ve also seen enough to understand that perception of jukebox musicals amongst the more serious theatre types isn’t always the most positive, and this is what first struck me about Tina. No matter who I spoke to about the show, everyone was full of praise, applauding how well the show tells the painful tale of a woman from Nutbush, Tennessee, who became one of the biggest stars in the world. Having seen it, I now know that this is a jukebox musical unlike any other.

The musical takes you on a journey through Tina’s life, from her humble beginnings as a young girl singing too loudly at church, through her tumultuous and abusive marriage to Ike Turner and finally onto her hard-won success as a solo artist. Whilst Tina’s story, particularly the abuse she suffered at the hands of Ike, is fairly well-known, what often gets forgotten is how much she had to overcome to succeed in a music business that discriminated against her based on her race, gender and even her age. The show does not shy away from any of these difficult topics, taking you on the journey with Tina as she simply refuses to give in. The violence, racism and discrimination genuinely draw gasps from the audience, and make the moments of affection, joy and success all the more poignant.

Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi plays Tina, and honestly, words fail me. She is an absolute tour de force and it is simply impossible to peel your eyes away from her. She brings new meaning to the words “triple threat” in theatre - her performance demands attention in every word, every line, every step. Indeed, I spent much of the show in awe at the sheer athleticism of Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi - not a beat was missed, and her dancing at the very end of the show was as polished and energetic as it was at the start, even when delivering astonishingly powerful notes in the big numbers. 

The cast are strong, particularly vocally, with some wonderful performances by both leads and ensemble performers. David King-Yombo gives an impressive performance as the talented but abusive Ike, whilst Tina’s family dynamic is brilliantly portrayed by Claude East as Gran Georgeanna, Georgia Gillam as her sister Alline and Letitia Hector as her mother Zelma. A special mention must be made to the professionalism with which the cast and the theatre staff handled a show stop in the second act, due to a medical emergency in the audience. Whilst these things do unfortunately happen, all involved responded quickly and theatre staff, cast and crew were rightfully applauded by how they handled the situation. Several of the cast have mentioned this on social media, and I would like to reiterate their sentiments and wish the person who took ill a swift recovery. 

The staging of the musical is reasonably simplistic for most of the show, reliant upon the large screen at the back of the stage. This works well, allowing the emphasis to be on the performances rather than on huge scene changes. It also means that there is little distraction from every brilliant costume, from the sequins to the satin. A special shout out to the Wigs, Hair and Make-Up team, because, as you can imagine, there is no Tina Turner musical without a huge range of hairstyles. Finally, the finale scene is sheer theatrical perfection, with clever staging that allows for a real feel-good party at the end of the show. 

I have been humming Tina Turner songs for most of the day, from Private Dancer and Proud Mary to I Can’t Stand The Rain and of course, (Simply) The Best, but the musical will stay with me for a long time, and not just down to an absolutely banging tracklist. When telling great stories, it is always important not to hide from the more difficult aspects, but to include them, no matter how uncomfortable. TIna does this so well, refusing to hide from the abuse and racism, but forcing us to confront the harsh reality of the life of one of music’s greatest stars and acknowledge how much she was forced to deal with. The journey through the show is not an easy one, but, by the end of the show, I felt genuinely inspired by her story and full of a heady mix of joy and sheer adrenaline.

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical takes the audience on a thrilling, if not always cosy, journey. I laughed, I cried, I danced, and I’ve been singing its praises ever since. With standout performances and a truly raw and genuine telling of the Queen of Rock and Roll’s Life, this show is definitely one to see before it rolls (on a river) out of town next weekend. 

Review: Hannah Daglish

Tickets:

TINA – The Tina Turner Musical runs at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tuesday 3 to Saturday 14 March 2026. Evening performances are at 7.30pm, with matinees on Thursdays and Saturdays at 2.30pm. Book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or call the box office.