TONY! The Tony Blair Rock Opera has announced the full cast for its West End run, and impending U.K. tour.
Harry Hill and Steve Brown’s musical, which explores how the would-be hippie popstar became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007, will receive a limited West End run at the Leicester Square Theatre April 15–May 21. Following that run, the musical will tour the U.K., including engagements at Sedgefield and Birmingham before a four-week run at Pleasance during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe August 2–27.
The production will star Jack Whittle as Tony Blair, Howard Samuels as Peter Mandelson, Tori Burgess as Cherie Blair, Phil Sealey as Gordon Brown, Martin Johnston as Neil Kinnock, Rosie Strobel as John Prescott, Sally Cheng as Robin Cook, Emma Jay Thomas as Princess Diana and William Hazell as an on-stage cover.
Following the Fringe, the production will then visit Salford, with additional dates to be announced.
Blair is a controversial figure in British politics, with TONY! depicting a wide range of figures that featured in his political career, including his wife Cherie Blair, Princess Diana, John Prescott, Peter Mandelson, Alastair Campbell, Osama bin Laden, George W Bush, Saddam Hussein and Gordon Brown. Neither Blair, nor the Tony Blair Institute, nor any individuals depicted within the musical are affiliated with the production, nor do they endorse it.
The production is directed by Peter Rowe, with set and costume design by Libby Watson, lighting design by Mark Dymock, sound design by Richard Brooker, and choreography by Francesca Jaynes. The Park Theatre production is produced in the West End and on tour by Nicholson Green Productions.