Comedian and singer Charlie Baker is to play Tony Blair in Harry Hill's latest musical Tony! A Tony Blair Rock Opera.
Baker will take on the role of the former Prime Minister in a short run of try-outs at the Turbine Theatre in Battersea later this month.
Hill is working on the show with his regular collaborator, muscian Steve Brown. They previously worked together on I Can't Sing, the musical about X Factor that ran in the West End at the London Palladium in 2014. Baker appeared in that too and has also regularly worked with Hill in his TV shows.
This new project is described as follows:
"A reckless reappraisal of the life of former Bad Rumours front man and Britain’s first pop Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The story of how one man went from peace loving, long haired hippy and would-be pop star to warmongering multimillionaire in just a couple of decades.
An hilarious tragedy of political intrigue, religion, power and romance that plays fast and loose with the facts, owing as much to Citizen Kane as it does to The Marx Brothers - Karl and Groucho .
Throw in a cast of larger-than-life characters - Cherie Blair, Princess Diana, John Prescott, Peter Mandelson, Alistair Campbell, Osama Bin Laden, George W Bush, Saddam Hussein, Gordon Brown and of course that dodgy dossier.
All set to rockin’ tunes."
Journalist Andrew Harrison dubbed the show We Will Iraq You on social media.
Tony! A Tony Blair Rock Opera runs at the Turbine from May 27 - May 29.
Book tickets here
Picture © Andy Hollingworth
