3 – 8 July Read our review 4 July
TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] is bound for Bath as Harry Hill and Steve Brown’s new musical tours the UK for the first time direct from the West End.
A reckless reappraisal of the life of Britain’s first pop Prime Minister Tony Blair, the musical features a host of the most famous characters to ever grace a tabloid newspaper and 90s news quiz!
TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] tells the story of how one man went from peace-loving, long-haired hippy and would-be pop star to warmongering multimillionaire in just a couple of decades. Love them or just love-to-hate them, none of the stellar cast of larger than life characters escapes from Harry Hill and Steve Brown’s sharp satire – Cherie Blair, Peter Mandelson, Princess Diana, John Prescott, Alastair Campbell, Osama bin Laden, George W Bush, Saddam Hussein and Gordon Brown – it’s Yes, Minister meets The Rocky Horror Show and a musical like no other.
Harry Hill and Steve Brown said, “After the great response from audiences on its launch last summer, we’re thrilled that TONY! is on the road in 2023. It’s a show for Tony Lovers and Haters everywhere – and everyone in between – don’t expect a history lesson – in our world Tony’s born singing and dancing, Saddam Hussein is played as Groucho Marx and Gordon Brown occasionally turns into the Incredible Hulk – let’s just say all the facts are there… but not necessarily as they occurred!”
Following a run in London’s West End, TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] visits Bath on its first nationwide tour, including Tony Blair’s previous constituency of Sedgefield and four weeks at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in association with Pleasance.
Please note: Neither Tony Blair, the Tony Blair Institute, nor any other person featured in this production have endorsed the production or its marketing materials and are in no way affiliated with the production.
Jack Whittle, who plays the role of Tony Blair, was last seen at the Theatre Royal Bath in the first UK tour of Laura Wade’s acclaimed drama Posh in 2019. Jack’s West End stage credits include Mischief’s The Comedy About A Bank Robbery and multi-award-winning production of The Play That Goes Wrong. Cherie Blair is played by Tori Burgess, who was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Pride & Prejudice* (*Sort Of) in the West End. Her other theatre credits include Beryl at Oldham Coliseum, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and Margaret Saves Scotland at Traverse Theatre.
Howard Samuels, who plays Peter Mandelson, was in the original cast of TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] when it premiered at Park Theatre last year. His many stage credits include the UK tour of The Sound of Music and the West End Theatre productions of Tonight’s the Night, The Rocky Horror Show and Rebel in Paradise.
Martin Johnston, reprises the role of Neil Kinnock after performing in the original cast of TONY! in London last year. In the West End, his previous productions include The Postman Always Rings Twice opposite Val Kilmer, and he appeared in the original casts of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I & II and Footloose – The Musical. His stage credits also include The Crucible at the National Theatre and for NT Live. On screen, Martin starred in Room 7, winning the Best Actor in a Feature Film Award at the BSI Film Festival.
Phil Sealey, who plays the role of Gordon Brown, has performed in The Railway Children at Taunton’s Brewhouse Theatre and many productions in London. Sally Cheng, who plays Robin Cook, has previously appeared in A Christmas Carol and Twelfth Night for the RSC, The Play That Goes Wrong in the West End and Shadowlands at Chichester Festival Theatre.
Rosie Strobel, appears as John Prescott, returning to the show after performing in its premiere at London’s Park Theatre in 2022. Aside from her theatre career, for eight years, Rosie was the lead vocalist with the London Breakbeat Orchestra, the UK’s first EDM 32-piece orchestra, performing at UK festivals, recording sessions for BBC Radio 1 and working with superstar DJs. Emma Jay Thomas, who plays Princess Diana, has previously appeared in The Talented Mr Ripley at Wilton’s Music Hall and on tour; The Tempest at the RSC, and in Miss Saigon, Merrily We Roll Along, Ragtime and the original company of Mamma Mia! in the West End.
William Hazell, who provides on-stage cover, was last seen at the Theatre Royal Bath in New Jersey Nights in 2014. His credits include Doctor Who Live for the UK arena tour and Titus Andronicus at Shakespeare’s Globe. He has also worked extensively with different vocal harmony groups including The Kings, The Brit Tones, The Somebodys and The Four Harmonies.
Other characters featured in the musical, who are played by the cast, include Saddam Hussein, Liam Gallagher, Alastair Campbell, Osama Bin Laden and many more.
Music and Lyrics are by Steve Brown, who lives in Bath. A composer, lyricist, arranger and record producer, he has written extensively for television, including all the music arrangements for Harry Hill’s radio, TV and film work since 1997. Steve has worked with some of the biggest names in British TV, radio, theatre, comedy and music, including Steve Coogan, Lenny Henry, Spitting Image, Grayson Perry, Lee Mack, The Goes Wrong Show and Ant & Dec. He wrote the music and lyrics for the West End musicals Spend Spend Spend (Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Musical) and the X Factor musical I Can’t Sing!; Magic Goes Wrong in the West End, and It’s a Wonderful Life with Francis Matthews at Ipswich’s New Wolsey. He produced the triple platinum album Seasons of My Soul by Rumer, MOBO-winning artist Laura Mvula’s debut Sing to the Moon, having discovered both artists, and Little Black Book by Sarah Walk.Harry Hill has written the book for TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera]. A multiple award-winning comedian, presenter and author, Harry is one of the UK’s most respected and inventive entertainers of the past thirty years. Starting with his ingenious comedy series on BBC2 and Channel 4, he went on to create the hit, multi-award-winning ITV series Harry Hill’s TV Burp, which ran for ten years. More recently, he created and starred in three series of ITV’s Harry Hill’s Alien Fun Capsule, and BBC2’s Harry Hill’s World of TV. He is the longstanding voice of ITV’s You’ve Been Framed and is the presenter of Channel 4’s Junior Bake Off. He has written several best-selling joke books and, amongst others, the popular children’s series Matt Millz. Harry has won three BAFTAs, eight British Comedy Awards and the Perrier Best Newcomer Award.
TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] is directed by Peter Rowe. A director and writer, with a particular interest in musical theatre, Peter was Artistic Director of the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich between 2000 and 2022. He has directed Boyband and Return to the Forbidden Planet in the West End and on national tours, and his own musical, Leader of the Pack. Peter’s work as a writer includes nine record-breaking ‘rock ‘n’ roll pantomimes’, which are currently being produced annually at the New Wolsey Theatre, Theatr Clwyd, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre and Leeds City Varieties. He also wrote the book for 20th Century Boy, a musical inspired by the life of Marc Bolan and incorporating the songs of T.Rex, which toured nationwide.
Set and costume design is by Libby Watson with lighting design by Mark Dymock, sound design by Richard Brooker, choreography by Francesca Jaynes and casting by Debbie O’Brien.
TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] appears at the Theatre Royal Bath from Monday 3rd to Saturday 8th July. Tickets are on sale at the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 and online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk
Photo credit: Mark Senior
