Only Fools and Horses - TRH / U.K Tour

So does nostalgia sell?

I am a fan of OFAH BBC comedy at its best, so can a musical replicate this? I was shocked by how good the acting was and had to do several double takes as I thought it was the actual charachters I love, from the tele, especially Rodney, who sounded like him to a t. I actually thought Paul Whitehouse was quite good, however the musical less so, with the music very pedestrian, however the famous song always goes down a storm and the show did have several laugh out moments, they were the several that did work and there were many that didn’t. The creatives have done well of getting the best bits from all the Horses episodes and creating a 2hr 30 musical out of it.

I managed to snag a £45 seat in the stalls, but cerainly would recommend spending anymore on this, however the rest of the dreadful audience seemed to and few of the them seemed well oiled and making the most of it despite there being other audience members that want to enjoy the show.

Watched this at today’s matinee. Overall a really fun afternoon at the theatre. The cast really did really well to portray the characters that we all know and love and at times felt that it was the original actors on stage the voices were that good (Paul Whitehouse as Grandad was just brilliant). The audience (and myself) lapped it up with the fast flowing gags and we were just waiting for those classic OFAH tv moments and the car to appear on stage. When they did, the audience just erupted in applause.

As for the musical score, it’s a bit if a mixed bag for me. Yes there are some really funny songs in there (The Tadpole song was a laugh both in the lyrics and the accompanying video) and of course you’ve the title song which is a guaranteed winner. Where I thought it was at its weakest was using Lovely Day to end Act 1 which for me didn’t work in the context of the plot, while in Act 2 it was Holding Back The Years which when used in the TV series really had some emotional weight behind it at the wedding as Del was just left by himself as the song plays. Here in the musical it loses that impact and I would have preferred it if Del had sung it as a solo.

As for audience behaviour, on the whole a well behaved one this afternoon, though I did have on family who unfortunately turned up late and right in the middle of the title song (that really got me rattled) and then the Dad’s phone rang soon after taking their seats. Though at least he apologised to me for the disturbance during the interval which was appreciated.

There is something very minor. Doesn’t require you to do anything so you should be ok.

Saw the matinee today. Wasn’t particularly excited to see it, and was more just to tick it off my list. It was by no means spectacular but I did find it rather funny and heart felt. Boycie was brilliant, but agree with previous post that it would work much better as a play. Looks like they’ve written it and then chucked in songs randomly.

Although I don't feel remotely qualified to pass judgement on this, I will offer an opinion.

It's certainly not as bad as I feared it was going to be. The first half was a buttock torturing 1 hour and 25 minutes but was great fun and there were some good set pieces and at least one good song which I still have in my head this morning. I thought it did a good job of introducing - or in my case, reminding me of - the characters and setting the scene as a whole. The second half was to me way less successful, and seemed to want to spotlight individual characters and give them a 'number' at the expense of it making sense to the whole or being necessary to the plot. Obviously when you have a beloved series and established characters if you leave one/some out you will be criticised or disappoint some people but for me the 'Cassandra' song and the 'Boycie/Marlene' number were a complete waste of time and made the show drag. I'm told by my godson whose choice this was, that there were loads of references and jokes in the Act II for the diehard fans but they passed me by. He thought it was brilliant and he's the target audience so job done I'd say. I wish I'd paid less for our tickets as it was way over my usual ceiling but at no stage did I want to leave and go home (well, not due to the show anyway)

We had the understudy for Del Boy, who was superb, am not sure how many times he has performed but he appeared seamless. I didn't get his name which is a bit shameful on my part.

The programme was £10!! £10! I think this is outrageous, disgraceful and shameless bilking of a diehard fan base. Although it's a little larger than a standard one, it's not a souvenier brochure or the like. TRH should be ashamed.

Don't know what happened after the interval but it became unbearably hot in the theatre I truly thought I was going to expire, I was sweating in places that I had forgotten could sweat. My companions reported the same feeling so I wasn't having a moment.

Must be running out of steam...if this disappeared,it would free up that gorgeous theatre for one of the gazillions of shows that are allegedly poised to cross the pond

It doesn’t sit well with me using it for musicals. It felt grand and culturally significant many moons ago watching Robert Lindsay and his big Cyrano nose on that stage. Fast forward 15/20 years and both ‘Acorn Antiques’ and ‘Heathers’ felt so alien in that room that I really couldn’t focus properly. Maybe something more ‘classic’ and old school would suit the space better. Have their been any ‘Brigadoon’ rumours?

Cast Recording is happening.

(Confirmed by Cast Members)

Was quite surprised to see it on TKTS when I looked last week. Thought this was a smash?

It’s been on quite a lot recently.

...considering the snobbery around it from some theatre goers its had what I'd think of as a good run, I thought they'd do a 3 month run and that would be it until the inevitable tour, especially compared to the likes of "I Can't Sing".