Tina: The Tina Turner Musical – Sunderland Empire

Power. Strength. Passion. Three words that could easily be used to describe the life and music of the legendary Tina Turner, and also three words that could just as easily be used to describe the Uk & Ireland tour of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. Starring the incredible Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi and David King-Yombo as Tina and Ike Turner respectively, Tina: The Musical takes us through the heartbreaking and personal journey of the late great Tina Turner, from her humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee to her selling out over 180,000 tickets in a stadium in Brazil and every raw and emotional twist and turn between.

Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi excels as Tina, with one of the most impress voices I have heard in a good while, and the acting and movement chops to back it up. Her command of her stage and her ability to hold her audience are second to none. Bravo! Kyle Richardson and William Beckerleg were both brilliant as Raymond Hill, the father of Tina’s first child Craig, and Erwin Bach, the later love of Tina. The chemistry between both and N’Zuzi was palpable and authentic. Chizaram Ochuba-Okafor and Shaniyah Abrahams were both exceptional as Young Anna Mae and Alline Bullock. The voices and performance levels of these two young powerhouses was something to behold and Ochuba-Okafor in particular was absolutely outstanding! The absolute highlight in the cast for myself however was David King-Yombo as Ike Turner, playing the villain of the piece with such a precision and perfection that, whilst you absolutely despise him as a character, you could see how a young Tina would get drawn into him. King-Yombo gave a performance as complex and three dimensional as any I have seen before. Bravo again!

The music for the show was brilliant, showcasing all the classic Tina Turner songs you would expect, including “Proud Mary”, “Nutbush City Limits” and “Simply the Best”, with a phenomenal band to back it up. In particular the saxophonist and lead guitar were both out of this world and more than earnt their bread and butter tonight! The production values were impeccable, with a set and lighting ripped straight from the West End. I loved the use of the camera to display video of Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi in “Simply the Best”, really making it feel like you were in that enormous stadium in Brazil watching this performance. Despite a couple of technical issues, the sound was also brilliant and well balanced apart from these minor hiccups.

All in all, I would highly recommend checking out Tina: The Tina Turner Musical and getting your way down to the city of Sunderland to catch this brilliant show before it moves into its next destination on 5th April. This fabulous show is one not to be missed.

Reviewer: Adam Craddock

Reviewed: 27th March 2025

North West End UK Rating: