The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
There are two tickets on the door whenever Tony wants to come
MARION MCMULLEN ASKS JACK WHITTLE ABOUT PLAYING EX-PM BLAIR IN RIOTOUS ROCK OPERA TONY!
Tell us about how it was auditioning to play Tony Blair in Harry Hill and Steve Brown’s rock opera Tony! When I read the script before my first audition I thought ‘Oh, I’m going to get cancelled if I do this’.
Then I read it again and then I performed it in the audition and it all clicked into place. As soon as people started laughing, it all made sense and audiences now are just loving every second of it.
Both Harry Hill and Steve Brown were in that first audition room. Normally when you go for an audition there are two or three people there, but when I walked into this one there were up to 12.
Were you given any tips on playing the former prime minister?
One of the most surreal days was being sat in the bar above the rehearsal space with Harry Hill, Steve Brown and Rory Bremner... and they all did their own version of Tony Blair.
I was sitting there thinking ‘OK, and this is mine’ but it was incredibly useful. I was in awe sitting in front of people who have been doing this for decades at the highest level.
I was just happy to be getting that sort of feedback and education, but I was quite nervous to reproduce what they are so brilliant at naturally.
What do you think Tony Blair would make of the show?
Harry always says there are two tickets on the door whenever Tony wants to come.
I would hope that he would consider it. It’s difficult not to enjoy the show, except I suppose if you are the actual centrepiece of the show.
There are true funny moments that he would find amusing and some bits that he would find uncomfortable. It would be interesting to know what he thinks about it all.
Is this your first musical?
It is and that’s had its own challenges along the way. All the acting stuff is a challenge in its own right because you are trying to impersonate Tony Blair in a high-energy farce, then on top of that I’ve had to learn about 10 songs and some dancing and, honestly, what more can they ask me to do.
Oh, and there is a little bit of trumpet in there as well so they truly have rinsed me for all I’m worth.
I think what is nice about Tony! is that I’ve been able to do my own thing with it and because it is brand new you have so much more freedom to put your own spin on it.
We get gasps from the audience, heckles and even some sympathy sometimes, but not often. Mostly it’s shock.
When did you start acting?
I was so late into it. I didn’t really start until I was 17 or 18. I was supposed to be going to university and I literally turned 180 degrees and within just over a year I was in drama school.
Once you are there, once you have made that decision, it was just a snowball effect. In the blink of an eye it has now become my entire life, which is great. (Laughs) I was originally going to study accounting. I can’t really see myself now in an office.
I played the trumpet from a young age, so I’ve always been performing, but I can’t tell you how shy a child and teenager I was. I don’t really know what came
MAKING AN IMPRESSION: Harry Hill and Rory Bremner over me. It was so out of character for me.
My parents must have been so taken aback because I had never done acting before, but they really believed that I could do it. They are there every show I do on opening night and multiple times throughout the run.
Are you looking forward to touring? (Laughs) Yeah, we’re off... everywhere. I’ve never done an Edinburgh Fringe before so I’m very excited about that. We are in Liverpool for the Labour Party Conference and in Manchester for the Tory Party Conference as well.
We are really trying to round up everybody. I think they’ll love it.
The good thing about the show is that it doesn’t really take a political standpoint other than just attacking everybody. (Laughs) Which is always the best way.
Is it easy to leave Tony Blair behind at the end of the night? (Laughs) No. I’ve got better at it I think. The first two weeks doing the show I could not stop smiling for maybe an hour after the show and my eyes were so wide for ages because I was used to doing this manic grin.
How would you describe Tony!
It’s silly, high-octane and it doesn’t let anyone off the hook for anything – whether it is their personal life or their professional life. And it’s nostalgic. It reminds everyone of the hope they had of the time.
It doesn’t end on a serious note. It ends on a note of ‘this is not all down to me Tony. I’m not the only bad guy. Everyone is awful at their jobs so let’s not have a go at me’.
■ Visit tonyblairrockopera.co.uk for tour dates and ticket booking
We get gasps from the audience, heckles and even some sympathy sometimes...