Theatre

A ‘rock opera’ about Tony Blair coming to Manchester later this year… genuinely

It's described as being a "reckless reappraisal" of the life of "Britain’s first pop Prime Minister".

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 5th May 2023

There’s a ‘rock opera’ musical stage show about the life and times of former Prime Minister Tony Blair coming to Manchester later this year.

And that is a 100% genuine statement.

It’s not something we expected to be writing today, and nor is it something you expected to be reading, but we’re being completely serious when we say that a “reckless reappraisal” of the life of “Britain’s first pop Prime Minister” Tony Blair is actually a thing – and it’s a thing that’s arriving in Greater Manchester later this year.

TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] is currently playing a limited season at the Leicester Square Theatre in London until 21 May, and then it’s heading out on a tour of the UK.

It’ll be playing a limited four-week run at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, before it takes to the stage at The Lowry in Salford this October – which conveniently coincides with the 2023 Conservative Party Conference being held in Manchester.

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Co-written by comedian Harry Hill and Steve Brown, the musical apparently tells the story of how one man went from “a peace-loving, long-haired hippy, and would-be pop star” to a “warmongering multimillionaire” in just a couple of decades, with a stellar cast of larger-than-life characters setting the scene.

Tony Blair’s wife Cherie, Princess Diana, John Prescott, Peter Mandelson, Alastair Campbell, Osama bin Laden, George W Bush, Saddam Hussein, and Gordon Brown are just some of the musical’s characters.

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Oh, and Liam Gallagher.

A ‘rock opera’ about Tony Blair coming to Manchester / Credit: TONY! (via Twitter)

Described as being like Yes, Minister meets The Rocky Horror Show, it’s a hilarious musical of political intrigue, religion, power, and romance.

“It’s a show for Tony lovers, haters, and everyone in between,” explained co-creators Harry Hill and Steve Brown.

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“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.

It’s described as being a “reckless reappraisal” of the life of “Britain’s first pop Prime Minister” / Credit: TONY!

“Tony hasn’t yet replied to our invite to see the show, but we do hope he’ll pop along to his old stomping ground of Sedgefield to give his verdict when we open there at the Parish Hall.

“Tony? If you’re reading this we’ve put a couple of tickets in your name on the door.”

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TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] will be on stage at The Lowry from Monday 2 – Saturday 7 October, and you can grab tickets here.

Featured Image – TONY! (via Twitter)

Theatre

Thousands of FREE tickets to The Big Night of Musicals at AO Arena have been released

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

There are thousands of free tickets up for grabs to attend ‘The Big Night of Musicals’ in Manchester next year which features a variety of theatre classics.

The curtain has risen once again as returning favourite, The Big Night of Musicals, is coming to AO Arena for a fourth year.

Hosted once again by the one and only Jason Manford, this event contains segments from some of the world’s greatest theatre productions.

Fronted by The National Lottery, this showcase is a thank you to all players whose money has supported more than 20,000 theatre-related projects totalling £1.3 billion.

These funds have been used on many performing arts resources including restoring theatres and enabling hundreds of musical-related projects to commence.

This isn’t something to be missed out on as the bill is shaping up to be one of the event’s biggest to date featuring stars from the West End and some of the most notorious shows.

Attendees can expect to hear some familiar favourites in the likes of Bat Out of Hell, Here & Now: The Steps Musical, Mean Girls and more.

There’s even an exclusive preview of the upcoming theatre adaptation of a Disney superhero as snippets from ‘Hercules’ will be performed live.

Guests even have a chance to be in the same room as musical theatre legend Carrie Hope Fletcher as she takes on the role of Calamity Jane in the theatre show of the same name.

Dear Evan Hansen is also on the bill and if you aren’t free for the musical ensemble, it’s running at Palace Theatre Manchester from 18-22 February next year and tickets are available right now.

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This event has a super varied lineup too, from throwback pop bangers to Wild West heroines, this night really caters to everyone.

In true musical style, there will be big, bold performances and, of course, lots of excellent surprises all set to make a fantastic night of live music at the AO Arena.

All National Lottery players have the chance to reserve up to four tickets, the only cost is proof they’ve purchased a product from the National Lottery and a £2 booking fee per ticket.

Tickets for the ‘Big Night of Musicals’ on 25 January are already on sale you can try your luck at grabbing some free seats HERE.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — Publicity Picture (Supplied)

Theatre

Come From Away at The Lowry – a 9/11 musical full of heart and hope

Oli Lowe Oli Lowe Come From Away at The Lowry - a 9/11 musical full of heart and hope

Let’s start with a summary of Come From Away – this is a theatre show about a small town on the coast of Canada, that when disaster shook the world on September 11th 2001, offered accommodation to over 7,000 passengers whose flights had been diverted due to the American airspace being closed.  

On the surface, you wouldn’t read the above summary of events and think ‘Let’s turn that cheery story into a musical’ but you simply have to believe me when I tell you that it just works.

Come From Away isn’t a story about disaster or tragedy (although both do feature heavily for obvious reasons) – it’s a story about community, hope and how when faced with the toughest of circumstances people are capable of extraordinary things.

The show opens in the unsuspecting town of Gander, Canada on the morning of 9/11. Gander was once home to the world’s largest airport, in a time gone by, when planes used to have to stop immediately after crossing the Atlantic.

This meant that Gander was the first place in North America that people such as The Beatles or even The Queen, ever landed. However, as we begin our story, Gander is now a small town with a population of about 11,000 and a derelict Airport, barely fit for purpose.

These circumstances changed very quickly when at 8:46am on September 11th 2001, a terrorist attack was committed on the World Trade Centre, New York. With the US airspace immediately closed, with all airborne planes now suspected to be terrorist weapons, all flights crossing the Atlantic had to be diverted to the nearest Canadian airport… Gander.   

Come From Away at The Lowry - a 9/11 musical full of heart and hope
Come From Away at The Lowry – a 9/11 musical full of heart and hope

This creates a scenario whereby within minutes a quiet unassuming town on the coast of Canada is expected to welcome over 7000 passengers from 38 different flights, without warning, without proper preparation and without any indication as to how long they’ll be staying.

When this tale is brought to life, it’s one that will bring you to tears. I have never in my life cried so much at a musical, which I know might not sound like the most resounding endorsement but it’s truly meant to be. There were of course sad tears, heartbreaking tears and sorrowful tears but there were also tears of joy, tears of quiet happiness and tears of hope.

When you think of the horrific events of 9/11, your thoughts immediately turn to the epicentre, to New York. I’d never considered the wider implications of that day, how thousands of people flying must have had their lives turned upside down, how panicked loved ones all across the world must have been, how communities globally were affected and how a small town in a completely different country was called into action.

I don’t want to give too much away in regards to the actual characters within this story or how their journeys play out through what must of been an incredibly tough time, but what I will say is that the characters in this story, all of whom are directly based on real people (more on that later), are some of the most inspirational human beings I’ve ever come across.

Come From Away is at The Lowry until 5 January
Come From Away is at The Lowry until 5 January

The show stars an extraordinary ensemble performance, with no leads or ‘main characters’, instead each of the twelve actors play a multitude of characters, whose stories inevitably intertwine with one and others. 

The staging and choreography for this show are also fantastic, very minimalist with the set mainly being made up of just chairs and small props, leading the audience to use their imaginations to fill in blanks.

I sadly can’t guarantee this at every performance of Come From Away but at the curtain call the night we watched, the real residents of Gander from whom the story is based on, came onto stage and gave a speech about how ‘none of them are heroes but instead just people who decided to do the right thing’… Which inevitably led to more tears from me and an even deeper appreciation of the show. 

I think this story is truly needed in the world we’re living in at the moment, with global tensions high, an economy that doesn’t favour most of us, and a lot of the world feeling more separated than ever before. This story, this beautiful, heartwarming and inspirational story shows us how even through the toughest of circumstances, we can work together for the betterment of everyone.

Please go and watch Come From Away. It’s one of the most beautiful stories I’ve seen brought to the stage and it deserves endless support from us Mancs whilst here in Salford.

It’s running throughout the festive season till 5 January and I guarantee you’ll walk away from it feeling just that little bit more hopeful about the world we live in. 

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