Former Prime Minister Tony Blair and myself share something in common: 1997 was a big year both of us. Admittedly, rather bigger for him, as he landed the top job in government, and I just shuffled off to uni, but still, it’s a year that is very much etched in my memory for more or less positive reasons.
It was the era of Britpop, ‘cool Britannia’ and cargo trousers (me, not Tony); back when Freddos were 10p and life felt less complicated. Add that to the proposition of Harry Hill’s surreal comedy, and I was bound to be along for the ride with Tony! (The Tony Blair Rock Opera).
This is an eclectic, multi-musical genre whistle-stop tour through the arc of the politician’s meteoric rise to power and subsequent ‘fall’ (if that indeed what it was). And buckle in, because it's very apparent from the get-go that nobody—and nothing—is safe from this merciless send up, from religion or race to disability and least of all political leanings. I mean, Robin Cook was a ginger, for goodness’ sake.
The audience seemed entirely on board once they’d adjusted their taste levels for satire, or so I thought, until Princess Diana, 'The People’s Princess' (Emma Jay Thomas) sashayed onto stage. Is it still too soon? A few heads shook in disbelief, and this may have resulted in an unfortunate departure or two at the interval, but I’m unsure which show they actually thought they’d signed up to. I mean where else would you see the word ‘celestial’ rhymed with ‘bestial’?
Jack Whittle nails the vacant, latterly haunted, Blair stare to the point where his face almost morphs into the real deal at certain points and Howard Samuels as Peter ‘Mandy’ Mandelson is deliciously wicked—pricking the tension of the aforementioned bombshell with some beautifully timed and, yes, completely over-egged balloon modelling. I freely admit that I laughed throughout and just wish I had subtitles so I could catch every line in all its glory. Well, my hearing's not what it was in the nineties after all.
Ultimately, Tony! is entertainment over serious political commentary, but I think we can all agree in today’s climate that the lyrics during the final number which surmised “the whole world is run by a**holes” are probably terrifyingly correct.