Soul Sister                         New Theatre, Cardiff    18 March 2013

 

 

Wokoma is Simply the Best

It was in 1956, at the age of 16, when Anna Mae Bullock auditioned for Ike Turner, that he realised her potential and by the 1960s Ike’s band became the Ike and Tina Turner Revue with Tina taking centre stage. Soul Sister is the story of how they came together, charting their relationship and their successes and failures until they got divorced and Tina went her own way to greater stardom.

Newsreel and other stage props were used to contextualise the evening’s entertainment providing nostalgia for many and a brief history lesson for those of a tender age. It added brevity to an otherwise factual account of events through to Tina becoming the most successful female rock singer ever.

The changing of the sets under cover of moving panels allowing props and cast to appear and disappear was simple but ingenious. If one was bored catching a brief glimpse of what was going on behind the panels may have provided some relief but from start to finish there was never any threat of boredom. Dialogue was clear and distinct and left no-one uncertain of what was going on but for reasons you will understand it was the songs that made the show. Some 24 numbers in all during the two hours were performed and every one of them was greeted with warm appreciation.  

The songs for the most part fitted the storyline with the first half opening with Private Dancer and closing to a sensational rendition of the classic River Deep Mountain High. In between such songs as You know I love you, A fool in Love, It’s gonna work out fine, I’m Blue and You should’a treated me right reflected the trials and tribulation of a love affair destined to end in pain. All the numbers in the first half were songs performed by Ike and Tina. The second half was full of Tina’s solo recordings as the story continued to relate the break-up of the marriage and their stage relationship, I Smell Trouble, an especially poignant arrangement of  Help, Respect and I Don’t Want to Fight Anymore were fitting numbers sung with telling feeling to emphasise the desperation and loneliness in Tina’s life. Reaching her lowest point she turned to Buddhism and later credited her faith with giving her the conviction to go it alone. Tina walked out on Ike in 1976 in the middle of a tour and later they were divorced.

 The rest of the show was a celebration of Tina’s rise to solo fame and featured the songs What’s Love Gotta Do with It (originally recorded by Bucks Fizz would you believe), Steamy Windows, Addicted to Love, and finishing with the paradoxically named The Best.  

The performances on the night from all, but especially Emi Wokoma as Tina, were outstanding. Close your eyes and you could easily be persuaded that the years had been turned back and you were actually listening to Tina herself, but to do that you would have missed the visual dynamism and excitement that was so much a trademark of the ‘soul sister’ which Wokoma mimicked faultlessly. Pumping legs, grinding hips and her long mane whipping up a frenzy were all trademarks of the Tina that Wokoma had perfected, but this wasn’t just a tribute act, it also showed clearly what an amazing talent Wokoma is.

Chris Tummings was convincing as Ike portraying all the characteristics of an unfaithful, drug taking, wife beating but ultimately caring partner, who was a loose cannon unwilling to deal with life head on. Ike’s theatrical talent was well replicated by his skilful guitar playing and his belligerence on stage.

The Ikettes were excellent in support collectively, and individually as characters, made it more of a story than just an arrangement of songs. The band was clearly made up of accomplished musicians in their own right with a togetherness that clearly delivered the sounds of the time.

Regrettably it had to stop somewhere as you yearned for it to go on and on as the curtain calls amplified. Standing ovations were the order of the night even for the pantomime villain Ike. On reflection there was so much talent on show that you get the impression that more will be seen and heard from many of the cast, but in particular’ Tina’, she is………SIMPLY THE BEST.  

 

 

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