Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith, London – until 5 January 2025
Reviewed by Phil Brown
5*****
As the audience assembled for the gala night of Only Fools and Horses The Musical on the evening of 18 December, the Hammersmith Apollo had a palpable air of expectation, perhaps more akin to that of a major rock concert or possibly a premier league football match. And judging by the raucous reception at the close, this show met that expectation handsomely and with a few extra knobs on. It is unquestionably premier league entertainment.
Turning a much loved TV comedy into a musical might seem like a slam dunk, but it turns out not that many TV shows, especially comedy ones have undergone such a transition. Conceiver and prodigiously talented writer of the original series, John Sullivan, presumably saw it as an exciting new challenge and started the project only a short time before he died suddenly in 2011. Determined to honour his father’s remarkable legacy, son Jim Sullivan took the reins and together with shapeshifter extraordinaire, Paul Whitehouse (both – book, lyrics and original score) and Caroline Jay Ranger (director) have put on a show that not only celebrates the original, but creates many moments of magic of its own. It is a more than worthy addition to the Only Fools and Horses canon.
The two leads Sam Lupton (playing Del Boy) and Tom Major (Rodney Trotter) are simply sensational. The full throttle dialogue is not only word perfect but exquisitely timed. David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst may have created the characters, but these two revive them to absolute perfection. From such TV programmes as the Fast Show, we know that Paul Whitehouse (Grandad and Uncle Albert) has a rare ability to impersonate many different “characters” and his Grandad definitely hits the spot. Mention must be made of a side-splitting scene towards the end with Grandad trying, through rhyming slang, to explain to Del Boy why he is in hospital. And his Uncle Albert is even better.
The programme lists Paul Whitehouse and Vinnie Jones as co-stars but in truth, both have relatively small parts. Vinnie Jones (Danny Driscoll) actually has a fairly lengthy showbiz resumé these days to go with his undoubted menacing physical attributes. He did a fine job of terrorising Del Boy as loan shark and local muscle.
The clever narrative of the show essentially works around the main characters’ relationships with the opposite sex – Rodney’s marriage to Cassandra (Nicola Munns), Del Boy’s hook up with Raquel (Georgina Hagen), and Boycie (Craig Berry) and Marlene’s (also Nicola Munns) ongoing struggle to become parents. All well cast (David Grindrod) and on top form. This storyline potentially touches on quite sensitive issues,, but is also a rich source of humour in the right hands.
The high tempo dialogue occasionally makes it tricky to pick up the brilliant one liners, malapropisms, linguistic faux pas and jokes in the script, and there are some very good ones. All your favourite characters appear, particularly Trigger (nicely played by Lee VG), Denzil (Bradley John), Mickey Pierce (Peter Watts) and Mike the Barman at the Nag’s Head (Darryl Paul). References to classic moments from the original TV episodes abound (eg Trigger’s broom), plus some great teasers which I won’t spoil.
The overall staging hits all the right notes, switching between the market pitch, the flat in Nelson Mandela House, the Nag’s Head, Sid’s cafe, etc with intelligent and effective set design enabling slick changes (Alice Power), great costumery (Liz Ascroft), and effective use of video backgrounds (Leo Flint).
As for the musical element, there are 19 well chosen songs ranging from knees up style singalongs through purely humorous to power ballads. There is a mix of old familiar tunes such as the Only Fools and Horses/Hooky Street theme song, some old Chas & Dave originals, Lovely Day by Bill Withers and Holding Back the Years by Mick Hucknall, along with a selection of new songs written by one or combinations of Jim Sullivan, Paul Whitehouse, Chase Hodges, and Stuart Morley who, in his principal role as musical supervisor, orchestrator and arranger has done a sterling job of making the show work as a musical
The revelation here is that Paul Whitehouse writes a very good song – music as well as lyrics – and indeed, is solely responsible for 4 of the well crafted songs and contributes music or lyrics to 6 others.
Of this show’s original songs, the stand outs are Where Have All the Cockneys Gone sung by Grandad and the ensemble, The Girl beautifully sung by Raquel, Bit of a Sort performed by Del Boy & a Dating Agent, and Paul Whitehouse’s lovely What Have I Let Myself in For? wonderfully sung by Cassandra. Also impressive is Gloria Acquaah-Harrison’s (wedding fitter to Cassandra) powerful performance of Holding Back the Years whilst Del Boy is on the receiving end of a Danny Driscoll punishment beating for defaulting on a loan.
We need some unalloyed joy in our lives, and Only Fools and Horses The Musical delivers mirth in abundance, mange tout. A brilliant return for Del Boy and Rodney and associated plonkers, duckers and divers. This has hit show written all over it and the timing makes it a handy alternative or even an addition to the traditional Christmas panto.