Behind the scenes
Launched in partnership with Women's Aid, TINA – THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL has brought an iconic pop-up costume exhibition to the heart of the Covent Garden Market Building to celebrate her life and legacy. The exhibition showcases six dazzling costumes from West End show. Visitors will also see photography of the outfits worn both within the show and by Tina Turner herself.
We caught up with Karis Anderson for a Q&A on everything Tina related, read our interview below...
My name is Karis Anderson and I have the absolute pleasure of Playing Tina, in Tina - The Tina Turner musical. It’s such an honour to be a part of this wonderful show that shines the light on this superwoman’s story of resilience, strength, over coming hardships and the power of the mind. I still pinch my self every time I get to go on that stage. It’s the hardest yet most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life. Anyone who comes to see the show is completely immersed in the timeless music from all of Tina’s different era’s and we get to show everyone the beautiful twists and turns of her career and personal life, how she over came so many struggles and as Tina would say, turned her ‘Poison into medicine’
I love ALL of the costumes but Disco inferno is definitely my all time favourite. As you can see it’s completely embellished with thousands of beautiful hand sewn beads and so much work and time goes into making the costumes so authentic and high quality. It’s so heavy! As soon as I put this dress on it’s like it unlocks all of my Tina Turner tricks and nuances in my tool box and that wild Queen of Rock and Roll completely takes over. It makes me feel so confident and like the best version of myself and I think our individual sense of fashion should make us feel this way! Disco Inferno is an explosive fiery number and this dress definitely represents that.
It’s the complete spirit of London! A little bit of everything and it’s definitely a staple for anyone visiting London. I'm a sucker for a market so I love walking around the beautiful stalls checking out all the shiny handmade jewellery like the true magpie I am! Then of course there are the many different food options! Eating in Covent Garden is one of my favourite things to do before a show.
It depends on how I’m feeling on the day - If I’m feeling confident and full of energy then it’s definitely the Megamix of Nutbush & Proud Mary. Which is the concert style numbers we do after the bows.
If I’m feeling a little low, river deep always makes me feel empowered. It’s such a massive number vocally anyway so just getting through it is a treat ha! But in the show we like to refer to this song as a transitional moment where she begins the song as Anna Mae, and ends it as Tina. She finds her strength throughout the song and it fills me with pride.
On days where I need to have a good cry. it’s definitely fight no more. The lyrics are beautiful and I connect to the spiritual element of the song and especially the chanting that we do. By the end of the number the whole cast is shouting ‘Tina… Tina… Tina…’ to me on stage while on my knees chanting the beautiful ‘Nam Myoho Renge Kyo’. This moment is so powerful and healing for me.
