Only Fools and Horses - TRH / U.K Tour
Feb 10, 2022 17:31:41 GMT
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Marwood, comporhys, and 2 more like this
Post by inthenose on Feb 10, 2022 17:31:41 GMT
I finally got to see this show and I absolutely LOVED it. As fans of the show, my Mum and I went in wanting to like this, but unsure we actually would. As with other dearly loved pieces, such as "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg", we have been stung before. But it was a riot! We got gorgeous seats for yesterday's matinee in the third row of the Royal Circle, a bargainous £25 each via TodayTix rush (normally £105).
I found it absolutely joyous from the get go. It is very much a show which is the sum of its parts. It is packed full of references, and being mindful of spoilers, let's just say nothing gets missed. Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan were very thorough! Whether it's an offhand reference to Peckham Spring, Tony Angelino or the van rolling onto the revolve (and immediately breaking down) - everything fans could want is there and they absolutely lapped it up.
The music I would charitably call a "mixed bag". There are some really funny numbers - "The Tadpole Song" brought the house down, as did "A Bit of a Sort", and some which really didn't work ("Gaze Into My Ball") but overall the songs did enough to make it a genuine musical adaptation rather than "The Best of Only Fools: LIVE". The score of this certainly isn't the USP - it's serviceable for what the show needs, but I doubt the soundtrack will get a lot of action from me when it arrives. Very strange decision to include a couple (two - this isn't a jukebox musical) of licensed songs, which while faithful to the show, were rather jarring.
The sound was crystal clear from our seats (a million miles off how inaudible much of Wicked was last week) and the sets filled the admittedly tiny stage appropriately. What I did find a little curious was that there are projections onto the back cyclorama throughout (some very funny ones at times, such as in "The Tadpole Song"), but there is a giant static Nags Head pub flat right in the middle of the stage, blocking most of it the entire time. Obviously, the projections are designed for either side of this, but there is a moment in the second act with Rodney and Cassandra which looks very strange, given the alleged setting of the scene.
The cast were incredible. I saw full the cast, with the exception of Lisa Bridge who covered Raquel (who was fine). Tom Bennett makes Del Boy his own - he actually had a few stumbles over the text early on but recovered quickly. He grew more and more and some scenes (notably with Raquel) were actually rather touching. Decent singing voice and surprisingly good dancer too! Ryan Hutton, making his professional debut(!) was equally excellent as Rodney. The audience love Paul Whitehouse, with long applause for his entrance(s) - you'll see what I mean! The standouts for me though were Jeff Nicholson's eerily uncanny Boycie and a fabulous multi-character turn by Oscar Conlon-Morrey. Two exceptional supporting performances which, if this were any other show, would get rightful raves.
There isn't much dancing - it's really not that kind of show, but some of the direction and choreography I thought was actually really good. I loved the little step on "c'est magnifique, Hooky Street" for example. Just good, clean fun.
Whitehouse mentioned at the curtain call that it would've been Lennard Pearce's 106th birthday and that he was a personal fan of his. I think this pretty much sums up the show, the love and deference it has been given. Some posts prior in this thread called this a "cash grab" - I don't think that could be further from the truth. This isn't a Disney-style "for the stage" adaptation by a faceless mega company, this was a passion project about a dearly loved British institution, made to happen by a handful of individuals.
There is just so much heart and soul in this show.
This all comes with a huge caveat: I simply couldn't recommend this show to non-fans. It is a love letter to the series, the characters and the beloved cast. There is nothing here to win new fans, it won't change your opinion if you happen to hate "Only Fools". It is worth mentioning that the final ever Only Fools and Horses episode was watched by 24 million people, the single highest ever British TV audience for a non-sporting programme, so it is safe to say the public have an appetite for it - no matter what many in this thread have claimed.
The journey to the gents in the Royal Circle is bizarre! When you finally arrive, there are two tiny urinals and one cubicle. Not good. Luckily I only needed a tinkle, as there was a queue of four blokes. The queue for the ladies was awful too.
Finally the audience... on the one hand, they were very enthusiastic, laughing in the right places, good ovations and clearly were having a great time. On the other hand, a woman behind me cracking open cans of lager throughout and getting increasingly more drunk, which was a bit irritating. Appalled at the lack of mask wearing, especially from what was an older audience - I'd say only around 5% were wearing masks. Very, very poor.
I'll be booking to see this again - 5*
I found it absolutely joyous from the get go. It is very much a show which is the sum of its parts. It is packed full of references, and being mindful of spoilers, let's just say nothing gets missed. Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan were very thorough! Whether it's an offhand reference to Peckham Spring, Tony Angelino or the van rolling onto the revolve (and immediately breaking down) - everything fans could want is there and they absolutely lapped it up.
The music I would charitably call a "mixed bag". There are some really funny numbers - "The Tadpole Song" brought the house down, as did "A Bit of a Sort", and some which really didn't work ("Gaze Into My Ball") but overall the songs did enough to make it a genuine musical adaptation rather than "The Best of Only Fools: LIVE". The score of this certainly isn't the USP - it's serviceable for what the show needs, but I doubt the soundtrack will get a lot of action from me when it arrives. Very strange decision to include a couple (two - this isn't a jukebox musical) of licensed songs, which while faithful to the show, were rather jarring.
The sound was crystal clear from our seats (a million miles off how inaudible much of Wicked was last week) and the sets filled the admittedly tiny stage appropriately. What I did find a little curious was that there are projections onto the back cyclorama throughout (some very funny ones at times, such as in "The Tadpole Song"), but there is a giant static Nags Head pub flat right in the middle of the stage, blocking most of it the entire time. Obviously, the projections are designed for either side of this, but there is a moment in the second act with Rodney and Cassandra which looks very strange, given the alleged setting of the scene.
The cast were incredible. I saw full the cast, with the exception of Lisa Bridge who covered Raquel (who was fine). Tom Bennett makes Del Boy his own - he actually had a few stumbles over the text early on but recovered quickly. He grew more and more and some scenes (notably with Raquel) were actually rather touching. Decent singing voice and surprisingly good dancer too! Ryan Hutton, making his professional debut(!) was equally excellent as Rodney. The audience love Paul Whitehouse, with long applause for his entrance(s) - you'll see what I mean! The standouts for me though were Jeff Nicholson's eerily uncanny Boycie and a fabulous multi-character turn by Oscar Conlon-Morrey. Two exceptional supporting performances which, if this were any other show, would get rightful raves.
There isn't much dancing - it's really not that kind of show, but some of the direction and choreography I thought was actually really good. I loved the little step on "c'est magnifique, Hooky Street" for example. Just good, clean fun.
Whitehouse mentioned at the curtain call that it would've been Lennard Pearce's 106th birthday and that he was a personal fan of his. I think this pretty much sums up the show, the love and deference it has been given. Some posts prior in this thread called this a "cash grab" - I don't think that could be further from the truth. This isn't a Disney-style "for the stage" adaptation by a faceless mega company, this was a passion project about a dearly loved British institution, made to happen by a handful of individuals.
There is just so much heart and soul in this show.
This all comes with a huge caveat: I simply couldn't recommend this show to non-fans. It is a love letter to the series, the characters and the beloved cast. There is nothing here to win new fans, it won't change your opinion if you happen to hate "Only Fools". It is worth mentioning that the final ever Only Fools and Horses episode was watched by 24 million people, the single highest ever British TV audience for a non-sporting programme, so it is safe to say the public have an appetite for it - no matter what many in this thread have claimed.
The journey to the gents in the Royal Circle is bizarre! When you finally arrive, there are two tiny urinals and one cubicle. Not good. Luckily I only needed a tinkle, as there was a queue of four blokes. The queue for the ladies was awful too.
Finally the audience... on the one hand, they were very enthusiastic, laughing in the right places, good ovations and clearly were having a great time. On the other hand, a woman behind me cracking open cans of lager throughout and getting increasingly more drunk, which was a bit irritating. Appalled at the lack of mask wearing, especially from what was an older audience - I'd say only around 5% were wearing masks. Very, very poor.
I'll be booking to see this again - 5*
