THEATRE REVIEW: Tony! The Tony Blair Rock Opera - The Playhouse, Liverpool.

It’s easy to think that ‘Tony Blair’ and ‘Musical’ are words that should never be put together in the same sentence. It conjures an image of a gaudy, grinning nightmare with jazz hands and Fosse feet. Well, 'Tony! The Tony Blair Rock Opera', is exactly that. But it’s not as nauseating as you might expect.

This is actually the second musical re-telling of Blair’s life, after 2007’s 'Tony! The Musical' which was written by Chris Bush (creator of the excellent and equally bonkers 'The Assassination of Katie Hopkins', as well as 'Standing at the Sky’s Edge', which is about to return to the West End after receiving critical acclaim). 'Tony!', this time written by comedian Harry Hill with music by Steve Brown, illustrates the story of the grinning labour leader’s rise (and fall) in the same satirical way but with a healthy injection of Hill’s madcap humour.

With Hill’s name stamped firmly across all promotional material, it would be ridiculous to go into the performance expecting an evening of sombre monologues and heart-wrenching ballads. 'Tony!' is stuffed with the kind of silly gags and slapstick humour that you’d expect from Hill, but it does also manage to pack a punch.

Act one could be mistaken for being something of a love letter to the Blair era. The cast flounce around the stage wailing (in the most prominent earworm of the night) the melodramatic chorus of the opening number (imaginatively titled ‘Tony’). As they strut and pose in this over-the-top, faux-Shakespearean way around the stage, we get the first inkling that this is not a show to be taken too seriously. The cast are well aware of the juxtaposition between its form and subject, and tongues are firmly placed in cheeks. We then join a young Tony, played with enormous levels of Cheshire-cat energy by Jack Whittle, at the exact moment of his birth, making a typically Hill-esque entrance from a curtain between his mother’s legs.

Whittle’s exuberance and energy throughout the show is really admirable and you can tell he is relishing creating this cartoonish version of the former Prime Minister. He certainly has the look of a young Blair, and his grin and head-wobble sometimes are unsettlingly reminiscent of a Thunderbirds puppet. Whittle is joined by an equally talented cast, most notably Rosie Strobel, who almost steals the show as John Prescott, Liam Gallagher and (unbelievably) Osama Bin Laden. The fact Strobel can slip so easily into such diverse roles is highly impressive. Phil Sealey as Sadam Hussein is equally hilarious and both actors really mine the absurd comedy from their characters with their over-animated gestures and dodgy facial hair. In 'Tony!’s world, the characters who cause the most destruction are the ones who are poked fun of the most. Tori Burgess is also fun as a broadly Liverpudlian version of Cherie Blair. Cherie and Tony’s sultry tango is a highlight of the show, even if it does lead to the sex scene none of us asked to see. Credit must also go to Cherie’s wig, which is also a bit of a scene stealer.

Act two is where the show really finds its feet and there’s a clear change of gear. If the first act details his rise to the top, act two sets up Blair’s fall from grace and certainly does not let him off lightly. The atrocities that happened under Blair’s reign are depicted with the usual light-heartedness and ridicule we expect from the production, until an uncomfortable moment when we are confronted with just how devastating these wars were. It’s a stunning shift in tone that definitely makes an impact.

Martin Johnston adds an interesting layer to the story as George W Bush, playing his relationship with Blair with a homoerotic undertone which is second in its seat-shifting discomfort factor to a previous scene involving a carrot (which is going to take a while to eradicate from my mind, as well as the poor unfortunate person sitting on the front row!). Howard Samuels adds a touch of camp as Peter Mandelson, who also acts as a narrator, overseeing the madness and breaking the fourth wall to add a scathing comment or two.

Whilst there are certainly parts of the show that feel like a nightmarish fairground ride, 'Tony!' is more than just a gross caricature of one of Labour’s most memorable leaders. It portrays the upsides of Blair’s reign with pride and nostalgia but doesn’t shy away from the mistakes of his era, which are shown with brutal honesty. It takes us on a madcap ride through the nineties political landscape and highlights the carnage caused by some of the World’s most notorious leaders, but, amongst the comedy and silliness, it leaves the audience questioning: Is it the leaders or the voters who are really to blame?

Reviewer - Gavin Hayes
on - 10.10.23