This is political satire at its very best! ‘Tony! The Blair Musical’ will take you on a journey of the last 10 years of Labour rule highlighting the triumphs, pitfalls and personalities that defined a political career.
Playwright Chris Bush has conceived a play that lays bare the humanity of a man who is loved and despised in equal measure. With the help of Ian McCluskey’s soundtrack and some very talented actors, including James Duckworth as a very fresh faced Tony Blair, Bush has produced a comical parody that requires no suspension of disbelief.
Fitting 10 years into an hour-long show is no small task but the gifted cast does it seamlessly. The show interplays moments of perfectly timed and often inappropriate humour against the deeply moving moments of personal tragedy and betrayal.
Prophetic visits from the late Princess Diana herald both the start and the end of Blair’s turbulent political career as it is told here. Some of the characters do come off a bit two-dimensional at times but the show is on the whole as moving as it is funny; you feel the elation and the despair of Cherie, Mandelson and Brown as they are embraced and later pushed aside by Blair.
Moments of pure comic gold, like the barber-shop quartet of former Tory leaders, make this an unforgettable show and one well worth seeing.
This show is a west end hit waiting to happen!
4/5
Matthew Straw
