REVIEW - Fabrique Belgique! Only Fools and Horses The Musical is theatre at its best - you'll be a plonker to miss it!

On Monday, we went to the Manchester Opera House to see Only Fools & Horses The Musical. Read what our reviewer Tom Maher thought about this fantastic production...

I remember Only Fools and Horses as the staple of the BBC’s early evening Saturday night TV throughout my childhood and, as I drove to see Only Fools and Horses The Musical, I enjoyed a good dose of nostalgia recalling  favourite  storylines and comedic moments  with my elderly mother who was accompanying me.  Would there be a catastrophic chandelier dropping scene?  Would Del Boy fall unwittingly through an open bar hatch?  How faithful would it stay to the original TV show and its characters made iconic not just by  David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst but by an incredible ensemble cast?     

Only Fools and Horses The Musical, then, is a stage adaptation of that beloved sitcom Only Fools and Horses, which originally aired from 1981 to 2003. The story follows the Trotter family—Derek "Del Boy" Trotter, a charming but often hapless market trader, and his younger brother, Rodney, who shares in Del's dreams of getting rich quick. Set in 1980s London, the musical explores their misadventures,  and the ups and downs of their working-class lives.

Rather than developing new material, the musical, which premiered in 2019 in the West End, brings the iconic characters and comedic situations from the series to the stage, combining the plot lines of Rodney and Cassandra’s wedding along with Del Boy’s search for a partner of his own.

From the start, with the Only Fools and Horses/Hooky Street main theme accompanying a bustling market scene, it was clear that the show was going to stay faithful to the TV show.

Sam Lupton’s (Great Expectations, Wicked, This England) Del Boy is pitch perfect as the market-trading chancer with an unswerving and perhaps misguided belief of being sophisticated and that “This time next year we’ll be millionaires”.  He plays Del Boy to a tee, with fabulous comic timing;  his gorgeous Cockney accent delivering frequent out of place French phrases such as “pain au raisin as they say in Constantinople” and  quoting lines from 80s pop songs as though they were by great philosophers (all in an attempt to bolster his image as a sophisticate) had the entire audience roaring with laughter.  Sam’s boisterous and energetic portrayal of Del never wavered from anything but what I remember of Del in the TV show.   Sam also brings the softer side to the brash and confident character of Del Boy, for example as he talks in a poignant moment to his departed mother.  However, the audience is quickly snapped out of this melancholy moment when Gloria Acquaah-Harrison (winner of Mawa Monologue Slam 2022) as Mrs Obooko unexpectedly speaks from the darkness at the back of the room and gives Del the fright of his life.  

Alongside Sam, is Tom Major as Rodney, who is outstanding on his professional debut.  He well captures Rodney’s impressionable and naive nature, both looking up to his older brother Del but also argumentative with him.  Sam maintains Rodney’s lanky, gangly posture with slightly awkward mannerisms throughout.  Similar to Sam’s Del, Tom’s Rodney never left me wanting for the original TV show’s actor Nicholas Lyndhurst as Rodney.   

Making up the trio of residents at Del’s flat in Peckham, is Paul Whitehouse’s (The Fast Show, The Harry Enfield Televsion Show, David Copperfield, Gone Fishing) Grandad.  Again, the original character of Del and Rodney’s Grandad is faithfully portrayed.   Paul also plays a brief cameo as Uncle Albert which got the biggest cheer of the night - when he appeared sporting a beard in the style of Buster Merryfield who acted as Uncle Albert in the TV show from 1985 onwards.  And the expectant audience were indeed treated to at least one mention of something that happened “During the war”!

Georgina Hagen (Resident Director in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Disney100: The Concert, The Story of Tracy Beaker) plays Racquel.  She is first introduced with a solo of The Girl (by John Sullivan) and has an amazing voice.  Later in the show, the way she softly and subtly sings the melody backing to Lupton’s Del thoughtfully quoting the first few lines of Bill Wither’s Lovely Day before it breaks into full song, has you rooting for them as a couple – they have brilliant chemistry together on stage.

Lee VG (The Book Thief, A Christmas Carol, Camelot in Concert) plays Trigger and very much captures the naïve, slightly bewildered nature of the original TV show character, with the puzzled facial expressions and lines that made the character one of the most memorable.  Fans of the TV show will be pleased to know that Trigger’s broom gets a mention! 

For me, the character Boycie has one of the most distinctive and memorable sounding guffaws in British comedy, up there with Cybil Fawlty’s hysterical shrieking with laughter in Fawlty Towers or H Rimmer’s taunting smirks on Red Dwarf.  It is Boycie’s signature sound, and Craig Berry (The Bodyguard - UK Tour, Mamma Mia, Cats) does not disappoint in this role.  Craig exaggerates Boycie’s style of laughter, capturing the almost self congratulatory thought at his own superiority to maximum and repeated effect.  The more it was overdone, the more the audience loved it. 

Nicola Munns (The Liver Birds Flying Home, Don Giovanni, The Snow Queen) plays both Marlene and Cassandra, and effortlessly captures the style and mannerisms of both.  True to the original TV show’s character, Munns plays Cassandra in a considered style, showing Cassandra to be from a less working class background than Rodney.  In contrast, Munns plays Marlene with the vigour and loud mouthed brashness she is known for.

Other shout out performances of the night came from Bradley John (Pandora’s Box, The Lazarus Project, Great Expectations) as Denzil and Peter Watts (The Threepenny Opera, Assassins, Twelfth Night) as Mickey Pearce/Danny Driscoll.

The set used was cleverly simple - a pair of revolving panels either side of a double door allowing the show to move seamlessly and quickly between settings such as the Market, Del’s flat in Peckham and the Nag’s Head plus other less used settings such as the restaurant where Del and Racquel first dine, Waterloo station and the fertility clinic.  A display screen above the physical set aided the visuals for each location.  And of course, it wouldn’t be Only Fools and Horses without the famous yellow Robin Reliant making an appearance - probably the second biggest cheer of the night!  Costumes were faithful to the era of original show, such as with Del Boy wearing his sheepskin coat, Rodney wearing loose baggy suits and Nicola Munn’s Marlene sporting outfits with typically large “power shoulders”. 

A live band backs the musical numbers and there is a real mix from the titular Only Fools and Horses / Hooky Street theme during opening scenes in the market place and later on, through comedic numbers such as Mange Tout and The Tadpole Song (along with accompanying visuals on the screen above the stage) and also well known 80’s songs Lovely Day and Holding Back the Years.  Throughout the show, such as during the quick set changes, snippets of the Only Fools and Horses main theme is played to good effect, really feeling like it helped embed the feeling of the original show.  The show ended with the audience clapping along the Only Fools and Horses / Hooky Street theme as  the cast took their bows.  The vocals from all the cast are superb however for me, Georgina Hagen’s and Gloria Acquaah-Harrison’s solos during the show are absolutely standout.  

Whilst the show is clearly a massive nostalgia hit for any fan of the original tv show, if nothing else this show demonstrates how accessible and timeless Only Fools and Horses really is. For example, there were plenty of teenage children in the audience who were enjoying the show without the need for any nostalgia.  This is a show full of fabulous songs, brilliant acting and laugh out loud moments aplenty that is suitable for any age, and a perfect way to spend a cold Autumn night!

WE SCORE ONLY FOOLS & HORSES THE MUSICAL..

Only Fools and Horses The Musical is on at the Opera House, Manchester until Saturday 23rd November 2024.

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