Review: Tina Turner is simply the best and a show not to be missed
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical runs at the Grand Opera House in Belfast until May 24
The name Tina Turner is one I would hedge a bet most people are very familiar with. You'll know the big hits, that voice and undeniable stage presence and style.
I feel like I grew up just knowing she was a big star but apart from being able to rhyme off a few of her songs, the truth is I knew nothing about the woman herself or understood her true talent.
So when someone I knew caught Tina: The Tina Turner Musical on the West End and told me I had to see it when it came to Belfast, I have to admit I was intrigued.
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Sitting down in the Grand Opera House on Wednesday night, I had no idea what to expect and to say I was blown away by the end would be an understatement. Over the course of the show, which spanned two hours and 45 minutes, we were taken on an emotional roller coaster from the star's difficult start in life, through her abusive relationship with Ike Turner and finally to seeing her shine on her own.
I came away wanting to know more about this incredible woman.
And the reason I fell in love with Tina was all thanks to the masterful performance of Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy who brought the late star to life.
From the second she appeared on stage, Jochebel had an undeniable star quality. Initially we just see the back of her head at the bottom of a set of stairs as superstar Tina about to take to the stage, before young Tina - then going by her given name Anna Mae Bullock - played by the extremely talented young star Chizaram Ochuba-Okafor, took over.
Chizaram shows us the pain of Tina's childhood as she is seemingly rejected by her own mother, seeing her grandmother more as a mother figure, before Jochebel takes back over the role as Tina moves to St Louis to live with her mother and sister and starts her journey to becoming a star.
Jochebel's own voice was phenomenal. Just thinking back on her vocal performance makes me want to go back and watch the show all over again.
I found myself mesmerised not only by her voice but the way she moved as well, she managed to embody that star power Tina had while also bringing her own spark to the role.
And it wasn't just her voice that impressed, there are some very painful, traumatic and moving moments throughout the show as Tina navigates racism, domestic abuse and becoming a mother while on a gruelling tour schedule.
Jochebel had the audience in the palm of her hand as she brought us through Tina's life.
There was one unfortunate moment of 'audience participation', which was completely unnecessary. While at her most vulnerable, having left Ike after 16 years of abuse, Jochebel had one of her most important monologues with Tina asking for a room to stay despite having no money to her name.
At that key moment, one audience member decided to call out - 'You can stay at mine, love'. It may have got a few laughs but there's plenty of time at the end of the show for appropriate audience engagement which doesn't involve interrupting a performance.
To her credit, Jochebel continued on without hesitation, a true professional at all times bringing real raw emotion to the scene.
The audience were behind her the whole time and whooped and cheered when she finally walked away from the despicable Ike, played superbly by David King-Yombo.
The crowd could not help but boo him when it came to the curtain call at the end of the show, he had so well portrayed the evil of Ike Turner and what he did to Tina.
The rest of the cast are remarkable as well but it is all about Tina and by the end of the show you can see how much the rest of the cast respect and admire Jochebel for her energetic and emotional performance. She really pours everything she has into those two hours and 45 minutes to the very last second.
Make sure you stay right until the end as that performance at the end is something else and if you are lucky enough to see young Chizaram come back out to sing with Jochebel, then be prepared to be wowed.
The show is running until May 24, a long run for a reason as there will no doubt be so many people who wanted to snap up tickets to catch the show while it's in town. So if there are any tickets remaining, I would say jump on them and don't miss out on an unforgettable night.
There's no denying, Tina is simply the best.
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