Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Tony Blair rock opera to be staged in London in 2021

Tony Blair rock opera to be staged in London in 2021

Princess Diana and Osama bin Laden are among characters in show to be staged at London’s Turbine theatre
The life of Tony Blair is to be staged as a rock opera next year, featuring a cast of characters including Princess Diana and Saddam Hussein.

Tony! (A Tony Blair Rock Opera) will be performed at the Turbine theatre, at Battersea power station in London, next February with lyrics by the comedian Harry Hill.

Key political aides during Blair’s time as prime minister from 1997 to 2007 are also to be depicted, including his director of communications Alastair Campbell, adviser Peter Mandelson and deputy prime minister John Prescott.

Osama bin Laden, President George W Bush and Blair’s chancellor and successor, Gordon Brown, will also appear as characters in the production, which is one of a number of shows in the festival MTFestUK 2021, which runs from 1 to 13 February.

The opera, being performed from 4 to 6 February, will tell the former prime minister’s life story and will play “fast and loose with the facts”, according to the theatre.

Blair was in his first year in Downing Street when Princess Diana died in Paris in 1997. His tenure is remembered for the contentious invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, which led to the execution of Saddam, the country’s former president.

Paul Taylor-Mills, artistic director of the Turbine theatre, said: “It’s impossible to ignore the challenges and sheer nerve required to make any kind of announcement during these times.

“With all that in mind, I couldn’t be prouder to be associated with the Turbine theatre and everything that it stands for, particularly with regard to investing in and generating new work.

“It’s fair to say that MTFestUK 2021 is going to be our most diverse to date and I’m thrilled to be presenting musicals from first-time writers, alongside Tony and Olivier award-winning artists.”

It is not the first production based on the 67-year-old former prime minister, who has gone on to set up a global institute and interfaith charitable foundation. Tony! The Blair Musical, a satire written by Chris Bush, and its sequel Tony of Arabia had short try-outs around the start of his third term in charge of the country.

In 2016, Corbyn the Musical: The Motorcycle Diaries premiered at the Waterloo East theatre, written by Rupert Myers and Bobby Friedman. It featured an appearance from a character playing the role of Blair and was set in a future where Jeremy Corbyn, then Labour leader, was prime minister and Russia had declared nuclear war on the west.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×