Ruva Ngwenya’s singing career started with Tina Turner, and now she’s playing the icon in a new musical opening in Sydney

Tina Turner is a life-changing role for musical theatre star Ruva Ngwenya – and not for the first time. (ABC Arts: Teniola Komolafe)

When Tina Turner inducted Phil Spector into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, she performed an electrifying rendition of River Deep – Mountain High.

Accompanied by Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder, and with a sweat towel flung over her shoulder, Turner delivered the kind of powerful, embodied performance for which she is so beloved.