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Tom Major as Rodney and Sam Lupton as Del Boy. Pictures: Johan Persson Only Fools and Horses Birmingham Hippodrome ***** Mange tout, Mange tout mon châteauneuf-du-Pape as one would say in Delspeak, the lingua franca of Derek Trotter, esq, the would be international entrepreneur and playboy (don’t larf) whose gaff is in prestige(ish) Nelson Mandela house in the leafy(ish) London enclave of Peckham. It’s the classic, iconic TV sitcom, 22 years and 64 episodes, condensed into an affection tribute to the world of Del and his dodgy commercial enterprises full of the colourful characters who frequent The Nags Head, the local boozer where Del Boy has a slate to rival the national debt. There’s Del of course, played brilliantly by Sam Lupton, mes beaucoups, with his showy clothes and drinking anything that comes with an umbrella stuck in it, and Rodney, or Dave to his friend (see later) the gawky one, played with an air of frustration by Tom Major, something that comes from never getting one over on big bruv. Dave . . . sorry, Rodney. Rodney is on the verge of getting married and is two bags of sand short for the deposit on a flat – that’s £2,000 to you and me. Just thought we would mention it in case it comes up later. Then there is Paul Whitehouse, the writer of the musical and big fan of the TV show, who brings grandad to sparkling life and even doubles up as Uncle Albert who tells us about the time in the war when . . . sadly we just don’t have the space to fit all that in.
Craig Berry as Boycie and Nicola Munns as Marlene Bringing down the average IQ of The Nags Head regulars we have Trigger played in an uncertain way by Lee VG, as he is never quite sure what Trigger is going to question, or what thought will bounce around the emptiness between his ears at any moment. To say Trigger is intellectually challenged would give the mistaken impression there was even a contest, for example, from the first episode in 1981 to the last in 2003, Trigger was convinced Rodney was called Dave . . . the fact everyone else called him Rodney passing him by. We have Bradley John as Denzil, the Scouse cockney, then there’s Boycie, given a superior air by Craig Berry. Boycie sees himself as a cut above what he regards as the great unwashed who frequent The Nags Head, but desperately needs to mix with them to feed his feeling of superiority. He is always ready to mock with a laugh reminiscent of the sound of a donkey in severe pain. Yet there is a pathos behind the pomposity, with his struggles with wife Marlene to have a family. It provides lots of laughs, but also a tender moment with the bittersweet The Tadpole Song as Boycie, embarrassed at what he sees as his lack of manhood, and down to earth Marlene await their appointment in the fertility clinic. Marlene, who has a reputation or being, should we say, popular in her past, is played in that good bad girl style by Nicola Munns, who also plays the real good, good girl in the shape of Cassandra, Rodney’s fiancée. Credit to Nicola for the ability to perform both and we only knew it from the programme. There are other cast members doubling and even trebling up – only fools, horses and actors it seems . . .
Sam Lupton as Del Boy with Georgina as Hagen Peter Watts gives us Mickey Pearce and local money lender and gangster Danny Driscol while Darryl Paul turns up as Mike, the landlord of The Nags Head and Danny’s younger brother Tony, whose hobby, pastime and profession is hurting people. He is a sort of human penalty clause. Richard J Hunt is the head of the Technomatch dating agency who helps Del find A Bit of a Sort. He also find himself running an Italian restaurant, a greasy spoon caff, playing a Welsh medic and anyone else needed. At both ends of the social scale we find Gloria Acquaah-Harrison who plays Nags Head regular Mrs Obooko and Cassandra’s rather up market wedding fitter as she prepares for the big day with Dave . . . sorry, Rodney. The dating agency sets up Del, or a, should we say a somewhat self-aggrandised version of Del, with an actress who doesn’t do much in the way of acting, called Cassandra, played with a lovely touch by Georgina Hagen. It is a touching relationship with Del Boy with his brash exterior masking a heart of gold, even if it is 17 carat from Uzbekistan, and then the feet on the ground Cassandra who accepts Del for who and what he is. She has no illusions. He is the wide boy fly trader selling dodgy gear, with his mangled French, big ideas and boundless optimism and with a permanent belief that this time next year he will be a millionaire. The TV series officially ended at Christmas 2003 but writer John Sullivan had always had the idea of turning it into a stage musical and was working on that when he died in 2011. The mantle was taken up by long time fan Paul Whitehouse, who had grown up with the show, and John’s son Jim, the pair using John’s ideas. For afficionados of the show there is much to recognise with references to classic moments, such as the falling chandelier, which incidentally, cost £6,000 in the 1982 episode, £20,000 today, so had to be filmed in one take - no second chance. There is the running Dave joke, references to Batman and Robin and Peckham Spring Water as well as Raquel’s . . . other job, the one as an exotic dancer, and then there is Rodney’s wedding, we even get an appearance of the battered canary yellow, with rust detailing, Reliant Robin with a rendition of Chas and Dave’s Margate, with its hint of The Jolly Boys Outing Christmas special, and we can't forget Trigger's broom! And Del Boy leaning on the, missing, bar counter . . . say no more . . . Grandad is back in the musical. In the TV series he had died, with the death of actor Lennard Pearce, in 1984, while Cassandra did not even appear until five years later, but Grandad fits into the narrative of the musical better than Uncle Albert, allowing it to retain all the nostalgia for its fans and provide a more cohesive story, especially for newcomers, it being 22 years since the last episode aired. The script works well with enough nods to the TV series to provide satisfying familiarity while going its own way as a stand alone musical that could be enjoyed by anyone. The familiar themes were given an airing, some cockney themed songs were included and there were some lovely voices and fine solos with Mrs Obooko wowing us with Holding back the years, Requel pouring out her heart and lost love with The Girl, Cassandra singing of her fears on the eve of her wedding in What Have I Let Myself in For along with fun songs like Del and his Bit of a Sort requirements at the dating agency, or Trigger’s look into the future with Gaze into my Ball. The set from Alice Power is a wonderful example of what can be achieved with imagination, skill and rotating walls allowing continuous flow from scene to scene all aided by Ian Scott’s lighting. Leo Flint provides superb animations and video on the rear wall above Power’s brilliantly flexible set while the offstage five piece band, under musical director Catherine Benson, sound much larger then their number with everything from pub singalongs to pop classics in their repertoire. The result is a wonderful, fun musical, an affectionate tribute to a TV classic which never descends into some sort of karaoke or rehash of TV episodes, it’s a musical that stands on its own two feet . . . ready to pack up quick and run mind you if the police come round the corner . . . Directed by Caroline Jay Ranger, Del Boy will be on his pitch in Thorp Street, all cushty gear, lovely jubbly, no questions asked, to 12-04-25. Roger Clarke 01-04-25 |
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