Only Fools and Horses The Musical – Bord Gáis Energy Theatre – Review

Dates: 30 June – 05 July 2025

When Del Boy proclaims, ‘This time next year, we’ll be millionaires’ you know you’re on safe ground. The year is 1988, and we are welcomed back into the world of the Trotters in Peckham, London. The play focuses on the upcoming nuptials of Rodney (Tom Major) to his fiancée Cassandra. Del Boy (Sam Lupton) worries about the lack of love in his life and decides to visit a dating agency, where he encounters Raquel (Georgina Hagen) for the first time!

The hit TV show Only Fools and Horses ran between 1981 to 1991, with numerous Christmas Specials taking us up to the final episode in 2003. The show featured some iconic characters, including David Jason as cheeky chappie Del Boy and Nicholas Lyndhurst as his younger brother Rodney Trotter. This production is based on the original show and has book, music and lyrics by Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan. Whitehouse is known for The Fast Show and his work with Harry Enfield. If you’re wondering who Jim Sullivan is, he’s the son of the original creator/ writer of the show, John Sullivan. The musical first premiered at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in February 2019 and ran until 2023. This touring production also features Paul Whitehouse in the role of Grandad, which gives the production a touch of star power.

It definitely helps your enjoyment of the production if you’ve a good knowledge of the original show to get all the in-jokes and character references. There are mentions of chandeliers and also the famous scene where Del Boy falls through the bar! All the familiar faces turn up, including Boycie and Marlene, Trigger, Mickey and Denzil.

It’s an unusual premise to add musical numbers to the original TV show format. Some moments work well, like when the market traders burst into a chorus of ‘why do only fools and horses work’, whereas the scenes with the more earnest Torch songs seem out of place. The production is at its best when it focuses on the comedy. Paul Whitehouse is very engaging as Grandad and gets the most out of his lines. Sam Lupton captures the charm of the loveable rogue Del Boy, with his gift for foreign languages sprinkled throughout. “Viva La France, like they say in Rome”. This is a classic sitcom series compressed onto the stage version, taking liberally from the source material.  It’s aimed at fans of the TV show who want to relive those moments on stage. The production does an impressive job of capturing the spirit of the original series.