Only Fools and Horses The Musical


Only Fools and Horses The Musical is a 2019 British romantic comedy musical with book, music and lyrics by Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan, and additional music by Chas Hodges and John Sullivan. It is based on John Sullivan's BBC television sitcom of the same name which ran from 1981 to 2003.
The musical premiered at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in February 2019 and played for over 1,000 performances until the end of April 2023.
WWW onlyfoolsmusical.com

Plot

The story compresses 22 years and 64 episodes of the show into a two-hour tale in which Rodney and Cassandra are making wedding preparations, Boycie and Marlene are trying to conceive, and Del Boy goes to a dating agency looking for a "sort" and ends up with Raquel.

Production history

World premiere: West End (2019–2023)

A musical adaptation of the popular sitcom Only Fools and Horses was initially announced to be coming to the West End on 8 October 2018 and would be produced by Phil McIntyre Entertainments and written by Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan. The initial casting announced Paul Whitehouse playing the role of Grandad, Tom Bennett as Del Boy and Ryan Hutton as Rodney. The musical was announced to have its first preview on 8 February 2019.
The musical made its world premiere at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on 9 February 2019, before opening officially on 19 February 2019. The production was directed and choreographed by Caroline Jay Ranger, with musical supervision, orchestrations and arrangements by Stuart Morley. Set and costume were designed by Liz Ascroft, with lighting design by Richard G Jones and Sound Design by Rory Madden.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom mandating the closure of all theatres, the production was forced to take a lengthy hiatus. It reopened on 1 October 2021. The production closed on 29 April 2023 after over 1000 performances, making it the longest-running production in the Theatre Royal Haymarket's history.

UK and Ireland tour (2024-25)

On 27 October 2023, it was announced that the musical would begin a UK and Ireland tour on 23 September 2024 at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley, touring until 5 July 2025. It will also include a Christmas season at the Hammersmith Apollo from 17 December 2024 until 5 January 2025. Whitehouse will reprise his role as Grandad at certain venues, including the London season.

Musical numbers

Original West End Production

Act I

  • "Prologue – O Furtuna" – Orchestra '
  • * Replaced by Only Fools and Horses Overture in 2022
  • "His Name is Derek Trotter" – Cripps & Ensemble '
  • "Only Fools and Horses/Hooky Street" – Del Boy, Rodney & Ensemble '
  • "Not Now Grandad" – Del Boy, Rodney & Grandad '
  • "That's What I Like" – Ensemble '
  • "Where Have All The Cockneys Gone?" – Grandad & Ensemble '
  • "The Girl" – Raquel '
  • "Mange Tout" – Del Boy & Dating Agent '
  • "Bit of a Sort" – Del Boy & Dating Agent '
  • "Raining for Grandad" – Grandad '
  • "Being a Villain" – Danny Driscoll & Tony Driscoll
  • "Lovely Day" – Del Boy, Raquel, Grandad & Ensemble ''''

Act II

  • "Marriage & Love" – Rodney & Cassandra '
  • "West End Wendy" – Del Boy, Raquel & Ensemble '
  • "What have I let myself in for?" – Cassandra '
  • "Gaze Into My Ball" – Trigger & Ensemble '
  • "The Tadpole Song" – Boycie & Marlene '
  • "Holding Back The Years" – Mrs Obookoo '
  • "Margate" – Ensemble
  • "This Time Next Year" – Ensemble ''''

Original cast and characters

  • From 2022 All the following played by the same actor - Marlene/Cassandra, Mickey Pearce/Danny Driscoll, Mike The Barman/Tony Driscoll and Dating Agent/Sid

Notable West End replacements

Critical reception

Peter Mason in the Morning Star newspaper described the production as "well conceived, well wrought and, above all, great fun", adding that "in general, the tenor of the stage interpretation is rather more emotional than the TV series, with more pathos and some darker moments."