Totally Tina invited the Granite City to come along and shake a tail feather as the show’s tour took it to Aberdeen’s Tivoli theatre. Grant Dickie went along…
I’ve always been a big Tina Turner fan and was disappointed when she retired from touring and I hadn’t been able to see her live. So it only made sense when Totally Tina – billed as the UK’s original, award-winning Tina Turner tribute – came to Aberdeen that I should attend. And I’m glad I did.
The night began with Justine Riddoch, who plays Tina, performing hits from across all of Tina’s illustrious career accompanied by her band and four dancers starting with the classic Steamy Windows.
But as we enjoyed the first numbers of the show, as with every tribute, my eyes and ears were fixed on Riddoch to see just how she managed to embody Tina.
Riddoch must have spent countless hours studying Tina and practicing, as she had everything from the speaking and singing voice to the movements and mannerisms mastered.
As the first chords struck of Private Dancer and it came time to perform the sultry hit I was eagerly waiting to see how this Tina would handle the change in tempo. It was as if Tina was in the room; if you closed your eyes you would have been forgiven for thinking she was.
Riddoch not only embodied Tina, but many of her live performances, as she spoke to the audience about Tina’s performances and recreated some of the iconic choreography.
I think many people forget just how many duets Tina had under her belt. Totally Tina brought many of these to the show with guitarist Neil joining Riddoch to sing the male lead vocals and take on the guise of stars such as Elton John and Rod Stewart.
Throughout, the numbers were accompanied by creative visuals or even some live footage of Tina performing.
Visually, the most stunning part of the show saw the lights go down and both the dancers and Riddoch revealed wearing costumes adorned with LED lighting as they danced around the stage performing When the Heartache is Over.
With this level of costume design coupled with the sheer number of effortless quick changes throughout, it is clear that no expense was spared when it came to the outfits.
As we came toward the end of the show Riddoch warned, ‘if your hair isn’t secured, pin it down now or you’re going to lose it.’ This was her introducing us to Proud Mary as the energy levels softened for the easy first half of the song before kicking into the energetic performance everyone couldn’t help but join in with.
Closing the show with an encore of The Best and Nutbush City Limits was perfect, leaving the audience on a high that followed them out as you could hear people singing the songs as they made their way home.
For more on Totally Tina visit totallytina.co.uk
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