Del-Boy and company have finally become West End royalty
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The Haymarket Theatre, London, host in the past to players like Sir Alec Guinness and Dame Judie Dench. Now it’s welcomed one of the city’s most famous families to tread its boards – the Trotters. Yes, Only Fools and Horses the Musical is causing quite a stir up West, and now it was my turn to grab a piece of the pukka pie.
Triffic, cushty, lovely jubbly – would all these adjectives and more be on everyone’s lips come 10pm? Only one way to find out!
I’d never been to see a West End musical before. Cats at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, and an am-dram production of Oklahoma! were all I could lay claim to, so it was difficult to judge if things were ‘back to normal’. Only Fools and Horses? Au contraire. This was much more familiar territory.
One thing I knew about this show beforehand, was that it was co-written by comedy stalwart Paul Whitehouse, who also stars as Grandad. Incidentally, script duties were shared with Jim Sullivan, son of Only Fools creator John. Before taking my seat I was informed by one of the ushers, Leo, that Whitehouse would be absent this particular night and the understudy would be stepping into the breach. A performing arts student, Leo was also full of praise for the musical: “It’s very entertaining,” she said. “If you’ve seen the TV show then you’ll get a lot of the references, but if you love musicals this is a brand-new one that’s very effective, and it’s good for all ages.”
Back to Mr Whitehouse, and it may come as a surprise that he’s also had a hand in some of the songs as well as the script – is there no end to this man’s talents? Sadly, as already pointed out, we wouldn’t get to know, although his understudy was more than adequate. So once you’re over that hurdle of disappointment, there’s something else to get your head round. This may sound churlish, but it’s important to remember that this is a musical, first and foremost. Adopt this mindset from the get-go and you’ll appreciate the evening a lot more. Expectations of gags at a rate of sitcom-like proportions should be banished.
The key performance elements were top-drawer and the aforementioned songs were equal to this. There’s the new ones of course, but these sit comfortably alongside favourites such as Simply Red‘s Holding Back the Years, and Chas and Dave‘s Margate. Perhaps the most impressive vocalist on the night was Melanie Marshall, although it has to be said that much of the audience were left scratching their heads as to why her character, Mrs Obooko, was included in the first place. For the uninitiated, Mrs Obooko was an unseen character mentioned in an episode from series one. However, this could be where not being an Only Fools fan, per se, could work to your advantage.
Coca-Cola or Pepsi? McDonald’s or Burger King? Don’t worry, I’m not going off on sone strange tangent, but another common 50-50 question is Grandad or Uncle Albert? Personally I’m with the latter, so I found it a real shame that the character was only there for the final 15 minutes. Biased maybe, but there’s no doubt the audience reaction was favourable when the old sea dog came to the fore.
Which brings me to another point. I’m no actor/performer, but I did once dabble in impressionism on stage and it’s safe to say that Uncle Albert and Boycie are the easiest Only Fools characters to mimic. That said, you’d be naive to think that doesn’t bring pressures of its own: the audience will be expecting nothing less than perfection in terms of vocal replication. Most people could do a half-decent job, but very few could get it bang on the money, and the two cast members definitely do.
There are famous moments and lines aplenty that are recreated (spoiler alert: one scene involving a bar is featured); whether or not any of your personal favourites make the cut is in the lap of the gods, although there’s the odd occasion it’s set up nicely for certain ones that don’t actually materialise. Another minor criticism are the Driscoll Brothers being near enough the same height. For the uninitiated, there was around a foot between them in the TV show, and it reminded me of a stage version of Blackadder I’d seen where Baldrick was similar in stature to Blackadder. That really didn’t work, but as the Driscoll Brothers are more minor characters it didn’t matter too much.
Of course, with all that’s gone one for the last two years, you couldn’t help but be warmed by the fact that the West End was back in business, which must surely bring a smile to your face no matter what you’re watching. “It’s great that theatres have reopened,” said Leo. “Performers were out of action and it’s brilliant for them to get back into their work.”
Hear, hear! If you’re a fan of Only Fools, then it goes without saying that this is must-watch territory. If not (yes, these people do exist) then deduct half a star. If you’re not particularly fond of musicals either… well, you’d be a plonker to turn up in the first place.
The Early Whistle 