ONLY A PLONKER WOULD MISS THIS!
Stick a pony in your pocket – The Trotters are back and they’re coming to Newcastle! Smash hit show, Only Fools and Horses The Musical – direct from a record-breaking, four-year sold-out run-in London’s West End – visits Newcastle Theatre Royal Mon 10 – Sat 22 Feb 2025.
As writers of the hit West-End musical, Only Fools and Horses, Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan have taken John Sullivan’s 64 unforgettable television adventures of Del and Rodney and blended them into one perfect night out.
Did you start from scratch when you started your collaboration or is any of the musical based upon earlier developments?
Jim: When we began developing the idea back in 2015, the first thing I did was to search my dad’s notes. I knew from talking with him that he wanted to focus on the Dates episode (his personal favourite), where Del and Raquel first met. I also found a two-page opening scene, which our opening scene is based on.
I also came across an old audio cassette tape with the words “This Time Next Year” written on it. We played the tape and heard Chas and Dave (as Del and Rodney) singing “We’re gonna be alright, the good times are on their way!” So, we had the beginning of an opening scene and what I felt would make a great and uplifting final song. This was around about the time that Paul came on board, and it really took off from there.
Paul, how did you become involved with co-writing the musical?
Paul: I met Jim, and I was very conscious of how precious the legacy was to him and his family, and for me too as someone who loved the series. But the fact that Chas Hodges and John Sullivan had already written a song together for it struck me as a positive element!
Only Fools and Horses is such a cherished series, was it a little daunting to take characters and events that generations of viewers knew so well?
Jim: The story of the Trotters of Peckham spanned over two decades and included births, deaths and marriages. Our job was to boil that down into a single two-hour story… with songs! Ultimately, we are not trying to reinvent the series but rather to pay homage to it. We couldn’t include everyone, but we tried to give all the main characters a fair shout. What we’ve ended up with is something that captures and celebrates the heart and spirit of what the series was all about.
Was it ever tempting to go back to the beginning of the series or did you always want the musical to start with the Trotter’s world firmly established?
Jim: I followed my dad’s cue here. The series and the characters were developed over decades, and it was important to include all the key characters at key moments. We were focusing on the Dates episode, by which time a lot was changing in the lives of the Trotters. This timing also helped to inspire other ideas.
Paul: I thought that we shouldn’t just revisit Only Fools and Horses. It might sound a bit pretentious, but I thought one of the unsung stars of the show was London itself. I came up with the idea for a song called ‘Where Have All The Cockney’s Gone?’, a phrase I’d heard around, and it struck me as something that Grandad could empathise with and give voice to. I also had the idea that Trigger could look into the future in his Granny’s crystal ball and see the London we live in now.
Paul, did your paths ever cross with John, David, Nick and the gang?
Paul: I never met John, but I did meet David and Nick at a couple of BBC do’s and they were both lovely. Because The Fast Show was really at its height when I met them, and they really liked it, they were doing my characters back to me!
Finally, can we expect to see the old man of the sea and ancient mariner himself Uncle Albert make an appearance in the musical?!
Paul: Well, you never know, Uncle Albert might pop up in the show when things get tricky!
With musical contributions from the iconic Chas & Dave, the beloved theme tune as you have never heard it before, and an array of brand-new songs full of character and cockney charm, Only Fools and Horses The Musical is a feel-good family celebration of traditional working-class London life.
Only Fools and Horses plays Newcastle Theatre Royal Mon 10 – Sat 22 Feb 2025. Tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.