For such a formula-defying trailblazer, the very idea of a Tina Turner jukebox musical feels – at a conceptual level at least – like a surprisingly typical play.

Whilst 1993’s What’s Love Got To Do With It?, complete with Oscar-nominated evocation of Tina by Angela Bassett, was naturally somewhat clipped (arriving pre-‘Private Dancer’ as it did), it still holds up as a compelling, and some would say definitive, biopic. What more can Tina – the Tina Turner musical bring to audiences?

The answer lies, perhaps unsurprisingly, in its immediacy and in channeling the real magic of the lady herself; live performance. Shrewdly, Phyllida Lloyd’s production jumps straight into those iconic opening beats of ‘The Best’, as we see early-nineties Tina poised and meditative before a performance, before quite literally peeling back the curtain and returning to her childhood.

The bones of Tina are a familiar beast. Frank Ketelaar, Kees Prins and Katori Hall’s book has an awful lot of backstory to get through, and it zips through the star’s early years at fairly breakneck pace. There are fleeting glimpses of racism, parental abandonment and manipulation, but the first act in particular hinges heavily on her new infamous marriage to manager, musician and producer, Ike (David King-Yombo). Turner’s checkered past and the horrors she endured here are already well documented, but particularly visceral and shocking when depicted so unflinchingly on stage. Lloyd, along with choreography Anthony Van Laast and fight director Kate Waters quite literally pull no punches in shining a light on the physical assaults that accompanied Turner’s financial coercion and control.

It makes for a show of distinctly two halves. Post-interval, we find a resolute Tina having broken free from the cycle of abuse, determined to revivify her career and reinvent herself in her own image. It seems callous to suggest that the most fascinating and powerful parts of Tina Turner’s story are amidst her darkest days, but between the deep darkness of the Ike years and the eventual, triumphant reinvention, there’s a lot of treading water, with cookie cutter clashes with record labels and studio sessions that almost feel like Tina is coasting on musical biopic autopilot.

“MacCarthy embodies Turner completely, yet gives a rounded, heartbreaking and ultimately empowering performance in and of itself.”

Still, by the time the wigs are reaching for the ceiling and we’re hitting the likes of ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ and ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’, all is forgiven and we are back in the commanding, electrifying presence of music royalty.

Steering the ship is a phenomenal, transformative embodiment from Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy. From her humble Nutbush early days, right through to the towering, fist-pumping war cry of ‘The Best’, MacCarthy is simply electric. Her voice crackles with soul and anguish, and she channels the tireless physicality of Tina’s idiosyncratic moves and stage presence faultlessly. The death knell for any biopic is when a performer seems to simply be imitating or mimicking their muse. MacCarthy embodies Turner completely, yet gives a rounded, heartbreaking and ultimately empowering performance in and of itself.

She’s surrounded by a lot of impressive talent and supporting artists, including a company who absolutely go to town with Van Laast’s high-octane choreography. And particularly for a touring production, it looks sensational. Mark Thompson’s sets and costumes are a blend of period accurate and heightened character; regularly dazzling, with some of the transitions particularly snazzy and slick. The segue into the first chorus of ‘The Best’, for instance, is one of the most show-stopping, eye-popping moments you’ll catch on stage.

Ultimately, Tina – the Tina Turner Musical is a touching and fitting tribute to the late Queen of Rock’n’ Roll. It’s a powerful, at-times shocking account of her hardships and journey, even if some of the later chapters coast through formula. But replete with some of the most iconic rock and pop numbers in music history, and buoyed by a truly scintillating lead turn from Jochebel Ohene MacCarthy, whilst it may not exactly reinvent the wheel, it makes sure it’s an awful showy and big wheel at that, and more than keeps it turning.