“Dys-FUNK-tional” (Standard)

Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre

With one exception, the main review outlets were between lukewarm and highly critical in their reaction to the Chaka Kahn bio-musical. It was universally agreed that the Queen of Funk has a great voice and an interesting life. They almost all concurred that the book (script) by Khan’s creative director Nia T. Hill let it down (‘gallops breathlessly along in the manner of a loosely fleshed-out Wikipedia entry’ Telegraph). Most liked Alexandra Burke‘s singing.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Christiana Rose, reviewing for BroadwayWorld, was a fan: ‘I’m Every Woman boasts an exceptionally talented cast whose extraordinary vocal performances consistently honour Chaka Khan’s remarkable catalogue. It offers an honest reflection of Chaka’s life, a raw look at the perils of addiction, an important exploration of the music industry’s darker realities, alongside an exploration of intimate partner violence, survival, resilience, female empowerment and reclaiming one’s voice.’

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

The Times’ Clive Davis noted: ‘Racky Plews, the director, oversees a production embellished with striking period detail (dig those funky Seventies Afros) but undermined by a script by Nia T Hill which drifts from one stilted scene to another.’ He ended: ‘Still, the music lifts the spirits. Burke is in commanding form on the vocals, and the songs from Khan’s years with funk band Rufus still shimmer.’

The Guardian’s global music critic Ammar Kalia disagreed about the singing. Hoping for Kahn’s ‘soaring, multioctave vocal range, he found ‘Burke plays Khan with an energetic youthfulness – but when it comes to vocals faces a sisyphean task. She makes a valiant effort of singalong hits like Ain’t Nobody and Tell Me Something Good, but lacks the resonance to replicate Khan’s power.:’ He wasn’t impressed by the way the ‘book by Khan’s own creative director, Nia T Hill (…) sprints through a remarkable girlhood and young adulthood’ in the first half.

2 stars  ⭑⭑

Fiona Mountford reviewing for the Telegraph was damning: ‘Nia T Hill’s script gallops breathlessly along in the manner of a loosely fleshed-out Wikipedia entry, leaving no time for niceties such as characterisation.’ She conceded: ‘If the script is sappy, Burke’s voice is mercifully magnificent, although she could do with fewer distracting hand gestures.’

LondonTheatre’s Anya Ryan was disappointed with the book: ‘with each episode dispatched almost as quickly as it arrives – and all of it delivered through clunky, unnatural dialogue – we barely have a chance to feel it.’ She went on to say: ‘the production never quite decides what it wants to say. Is this a redemption arc for Khan? Does it simply give us a picture of her at each stage of her life? Or is it merely a way to shoehorn as many of her songs in as possible, however unconnected they may feel? Perhaps, trying too hard to be Every Woman means this show has no real identity at all.’

Tom Wicker for The Stage called it ‘heartfelt and well intentioned, but clumsy’.  He opined: ‘Burke gives every song her all, turning the music into a deserved high point. But the show flies so wildly all over the place that ultimately, the courageous, talented and complex Khan is short-changed.’

WhatsOnStage’s Sarah Crompton thought Alexandra Burke ‘not only has a voice that rises to any occasion but also has a presence and an acting quality capable of transforming moments of a written-by-rote show into theatrical magic.’ Unfortunately: ‘The problem lies most of all in Nia T Hill’s script, which reduces Khan’s life to a series of clichés’. She continued: ‘it’s made worse by direction from Racky Plews that allows the portrayal of the musical figures Khan meets en route … to descend into a series of comic turns and bad wigs.’

Isobel Lewis reported for Time Out (2 stars assumed): ‘It is a messy, overly long piece of theatre, its script a bizarre mix of stilted scenes and strange song choices that squanders lead Alexandra Burke’s talent and does little to convince us of Chaka’s very real star power.’

1 star ⭑

The Standard’s Nick Curtis summarised: ‘The script (by Khan’s creative director Nia T. Hill) is bad. The projection-based designs are bad. The cartoonish cameo appearances by Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Miles Davis and others are traducingly awful. The singing voices of a cast led by an extravagantly bewigged Alexandra Burke are pretty much the only saving grace, though the garish costumes are fun in a Wembley-hen-night kind of way.’

Critics’ average rating 2.4⭑

Value rating 26 (Combination of critics’ rating and typical ticket price)

I’m Every Woman can be seen at the Troubadour Wembley until 27 September 2026. Buy tickets directly from imeverywomanthemusical.com

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