Only Fools and Horses the Musical 2022 Review
It’s a big risk to revisit the greatest sitcom of all time and an even bigger one to reinvent it in to a musical. Some would say it’s best left in the past.
‘Only Fools and Horses’ was written by one person, and that was the great, late John Sullivan OBE. I’m a huge fan of the show and can’t go a day without watching an episode. It brings happiness to millions daily, and it’s repeated on GOLD constantly.
Credit: Alex Wiseman
John Sullivan was apparently considering a musical but never managed to fully commit to the idea before sadly passing away. John’s son, Jim Sullivan, and comedian Paul Whitehouse have teamed up and written an incredible, official ‘Only Fools and Horses Musical’. They used some notes left by John and have created something which any fan of the show would love, and John Sullivan would be so proud.
Being a huge fan of both the show and the cast, I felt a little anxious about watching others play the legendary characters, but let me say, that all disappeared within minutes. All the performers are absolutely amazing and play the characters as they were in the TV series whilst adding their own stamp.
Credit: Alex Wiseman
It follows the story of Rodney marrying Cassandra as well as Del meeting Raquel for the first time. There are a lot of nods to the TV series (which I am not going to tell you about as you need to go and see it!) The standout performances come from Del Boy (Tom Bennett), Rodney (Ryan Hutton) and of course, the Dating Agent (Oscar Conlon-Morrey) who had us all crying with laughter! The biggest cheer came when a certain three-wheeled van made an appearance.
One thing which hasn’t changed is a lot of dialogue from the cast in each scene, and then Trigger says one thing and gets the audience laughing their heads off. What a genius character he is!
Sadly, there are so many of the original TV cast no longer with us who are universally loved. We recently lost the irreplaceable John Challis aka Boycie, so, it was good to see Jeff Nicholson (who plays Boycie in the musical) replicate his famous laugh on stage so well: a fitting tribute to a wonderful and sorely missed man.
In short, if you are looking for an enjoyable time, lots of laughs and nostalgia, book your tickets now!
Bonnet de douche and bonjour for now.
Review By Alex Wiseman
Only Fools and Horses is booking through till May 2022 and tickets are available via:
5 Stars – Pukka –
