Review: Only Fools And Horses - The Musical (Eventim Apollo)

Review by Daz Gale

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When you ask people of a certain age (myself included), what they remember about Christmas Day from their past, many will mention the tradition of a brand new Christmas special of Only Fools And Horses on TV. No matter how stuffed you were, the often one-off episodes were a highlight for many and a lovely memory for me personally from my childhood. With that show’s association with Christmas, it feels only fitting that their Reliant Robin splutters into London for a Christmas season at Eventim Apollo in an extended stop on its UK tour. With this year’s production of Fawlty Towers proving there is an appetite for nostalgic stage shows based on Tv classics and the overwhelming success of this show’s previous West End run, the only question is would this production of Only Fools and Horses work?

The British television series Only Fools and Horses began in 1981 with its final episode airing in 2003. The musical adaptation played for more than 1000 performances after it premiered in the West End in 2019, closing its doors last year and is currently enjoying its first UK tour. Bringing together several stories together from the TV series and no shortage of iconic moments, it is set around the Trotter family with brothers Del Boy and Rodney and their Grandad navigating life in Peckham – all the while hoping to be millionaires. The stage show focuses on Del Boy meeting Raquel and Rodney preparing to marry Cassandra. Along the way, of course they get in trouble when Del does a deal with the Driscoll Brothers.

Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan have the unenviable task of cramming 22 years and 64 episodes of material into one two hour show and have done a great job in making a show that appeals to the legion of fans Only Fools And Horses has amassed in the decades since its debut. Classic moments including Del Boy falling through the bar are present and correct, while new elements attempt to bring a freshness to the show, even if the quality of which isn’t always consistent. One new moment seeing Trigger tell everyone what Peckham is like in 2024 while uttering “gaze into my ball” kills the momentum dead and feels wholly unnecessary. It is the recreation of characters you come to a show like Only Fools And Horses for, and audiences are sure to be delighted with Boycie’s laugh and Trigger’s inability to learn Rodney’s name.

As this is a touring production, certain tweaks have had to be made from the initial West End run – unfortunately this shows up some of the weaknesses in the story. While this is necessary to bring a show like this around the UK, something has been lost along the way. It also doesn’t help that the large space of Eventim Apollo made the show feel far more cold and disconnecting than it managed to at Haymarket with a simpler set losing some of the more comedic moments (you’ll have to go to The Phantom Of The Opera to see a falling chandelier this time around) and direction that sometimes lacked direction.

My biggest criticism of Only Fools And Horses is the music itself. The songs feature a variety of styles, some of which are incredibly perplexing and come across quite jarring, adding nothing to the story and feeling completely separate from the dialogue recreating the TV show. The music doesn’t add much to the show and I kept wondering how much more successful this would have been had it been a play, like Fawlty Towers has done, rather than make it a musical – and this is coming from someone who thinks everything can be made better from bursting into song randomly.

New numbers ‘Not Now Grandad’,  act two opener ‘Marriage & Love’ and the aforementioned ‘Gaze Into My Ball’ are by far the weakest moments of the musical, all sharing the same writer whose attempts at the book are more successful than his music and lyrics. The songs written by Jim Sullivan prove more successful with Raquel’s solo ‘The Girl’ the strongest original number, closely followed by the chaotic yet joyous ‘Bit Of A Sort’. Randomly and inexplicably, ‘Holding Back The Years’ and ‘Lovely Day’ feature among the songs for no reason whatsoever, with the latter featuring Grandad serenading chips in what is the second weirdest end to act one I have seen this year (nothing can beat Why Am I So Single? For that though). Of course, the Only Fools And Horses theme tune is present and every bit as enjoyable to see live as you would hope, though I wish there had been more consistency among the other songs here.

Stepping into the iconic shoes of the legendary David Jason is a tall enough order but doing so with the man himself in the audience is something else entirely. Luckily, Sam Lupton is an incredibly skilled actor, delivering a Del Boy that didn’t attempt to deviate from Jason’s portrayal, giving the fans what they wanted and impressing with his impersonation. Similarly, Tom Major was a breath of fresh air as Rodney with an uncanny characterisation, absolutely nailing the voice. It was a shame that given the show centres around the pair of them, they seemed to take a back seat in this production in favour of stunt casting. No matter who else is cast in this show, people will always be attending for the dynamic between Del Boy and Rodney and that seemed to be overlooked somewhat this time around.

A big deal has been made on the casting of Vinnie Jones as Danny Driscoll. Getting one of the final bows and being the largest person on the cover of the programme, you would expect him to be in it for more than a matter of minutes but his time in the role is essentially an extended cameo with a couple of fleeting appearances. Though he is unlikely to win an Olivier award for his acting and the less said about his singing, the better, he brought something different to the role and the show itself… though quite what that is, I couldn’t say. Perhaps the references to himself with the addition of “It’s been emotional” was a step too far though.

After originating the role in the West End production, Paul Whitehouse returns to the role of Grandad. Having been a huge part in the creation of this stage production, he is a joy to witness with a great knack for comic timing. It is his brief appearance as Uncle Albert, however, that truly brings the house down with an extended sequence that is anything but boring (as much as the fellow characters may disagree). Special mentions must also go to Lee VG’s fantastic take on Trigger and Georgina Hagen’s underused but memorable Raquel.

This production of Only Fools And Horses has veered into more of a pantomime territory than it had been before. Along the way, it has lost part of its identity with this new production highlighting flaws to the show I had overlooked when I had seen it previously. This is still a show anyone who loved the series will enjoy and is worth a trip for nostalgia alone. Unfortunately though, there isn’t as much on offer for anyone who is attending solely as a theatre lover. Though flawed as a production, the fun factor of Only Fools And Horses guarantees any fans of the show will find this lovely jubbly.

Only Fools And Horses plays at Eventim Apollo in London until 5th January 2025.

Tickets available here

It then continues to tour the UK in 2025. Dates and tickets here