The Musical adaptation genre is certainly booming as theatres today are packed with such adaptations from “The Great British Bake Off” to “Fawlty Towers” musicals. But is it comfort or creativity that is drawing in the crowds? When it comes to Only Fools and Horses: The Musical, aside from the beloved characters, witty dialogue and a few catchy tunes, my main question is just that. Adaptations are not a crime, and can be innovative and exciting in their own right, (just check out my review on the Peaky Blinders ballet adaptation), but the intent behind this musical feels as surface level and inauthentic as Del Boy’s sales tactics.
While the set and costume does a great job of bringing the audience into the East London of the 1980s, that is where the realism stops. One central issue I had with the musical was its poor and problematic representation. Characters of colour had little to no talking parts, an unrealistic representation considering the diverse nature of East London both in the 80s and today. Worse however was the casual allusions to assault and deceit of women mainly through the character Del Boy, whose casual assault of Marlene is not questioned but suggested to contribute to his characterisation as a lovable rogue, a representation possibly passable in the advent of the show, but which fell far from 2024’s social standards.
The lively audience, however, seemed to enjoy most of these hints and harks to the original show from the faulty chandelier to the swinging bar door. This for me culminated in Grandad’s, played by the star of The Fast Show Paul Whitehouse, song in the bar: ‘Where Have All the Cockneys Gone?’, which feels like the musical’s deeper cry, intentional or not. The romanticism of many retrospective pieces of media has only got more prevalent in a world that feels ever more disconnected, from the rise in AI to the re-election of Trump. What is it about this era, this place, and this community of characters that comforts audiences today.
The songs themselves were delivered with great talent and skill by all the performers, with no limit on the amount of times the Only Fools and Horses theme song was reprised. Alongside some traditional though oddly placed musical numbers, there were some enjoyable covers such as ‘lovely day’, and some powerful choral moments. Yet again it returned to this issue at the centre of the play: Are we returning to the past in music, character style and story to tell us something about the present or to just hide from the future?
I can critique and complain, but the laughter was riotous, there was applause after every song and many in the audience rose in ovation. This was theatre for the typically non-theatre goer, references not for Gen Z and songs usually listened to on LPs not Spotify. However, whatever era it depicts and whomever it markets itself towards, I strongly agree with Cesar A. Cruz that art, and by extension theatre, should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.
Unfortunately, this play is part of a legacy of musical adaptations intended to do little more than comfort.
Only Fools and Horses the Musical is on at Edinburgh Playhouse until Saturday 9 November, tickets available: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/only-fools-and-horses-the-musical/edinburgh-playhouse/
Image ‘Paul Whitehouse as Grandad’ provided via ATG and Edinburgh Playhouse Press Release