Red Bus Londinium Life

Authored by Harry Hill and Steve Brown, Tony! is a noisy musical look back at the Blair era. For those who lived through the era, it is a rousing (perhaps nostalgic) piece of fun. Younger members of the audience did find some elements hard to follow, this is really a piece for those who lived through those times.

Some characters are better captured than others. Howard Samuels was extremely strong as Peter Mandelson and Rosie Strobel was a convincing John Prescott. I found Phil Sealey’s Gordon Brown more uncomfortable, as I felt the falling-down-trousers caricature was more school-girl-mean than satire-clever.

Tori Burgess (who I last saw in Pride and Prejudice* (sort of)) was an excellent Cherie Blair, oozing ambition – hers is definitely a career to watch.

I was not sure about Jack Whittle as Tony Blair. Whittle is a clear talent but he has been directed, and the play is written, to cast Tony Blair as a fairly unwitting puppet of Cherie and Prescott. This did not give Whittle much to work with and I feel Blair was a more complex character than that. As the central character, this led to a bit of a hole in the centre of the production.

The first half is light, bold and funny: the optimism of Cool Britannia is captured. The second half, post 9-11, is starker and more depressing (as indeed, those times were). This juxtaposition was fitting as that was how the Blair era felt to many – a rise in hope followed by a slump into disappointment as external factors made success in Britain more difficult. 9-11 did indeed change the world, so its impact here could not be avoided.

This is a satisfying look back at an important time in Britain’s recent history.

Tony! is playing at Leicester Square Theatre until May 21st.

Have you seen Tony!? Let me know your thoughts below.