The adaptation of much-loved sitcom, Only Fools and Horses, tours the UK, stopping at The Alhambra where Leo Owen caught the show

Jim Sullivan pays tribute to his father’s hit comedy by teaming up with comedian Paul Whitehouse to pack 64 episodes into a two-hour stage show. The musical of Only Fools and Horses centres around the highs and lows of the characters’ romances, following Rodney (Tom Major) and Cassandra’s (Nicola Munns) wedding preparations; Boycie (Craig Berry) and Marlene’s (Munns) trips to the fertility clinic and Del Boy (Sam Lupton) meeting Raquel (Georgina Hagen) through Technomatch dating agency.

Alice Power’s design immediately transports fans to Peckham in the 1980s with The Nag’s Head and flat blocks projected behind the legendary market street where Rodney and Del peddle their dubious wares. Versatile and with a real attention to detail, Power’s set seamlessly moves from wedding boutique to Waterloo Station and Sid’s Café, truly bought to life by Leo Flint’s phenomenal animation and video.

Through musical numbers, the characters pass major life milestones with mixed success. “Being a Villain” introduces the brutish Driscoll brothers and feels a tad redundant while other marginally more successful numbers are unlikely to become earworms. Grandad’s (Philip Childs) nostalgic turn in “Where Have All the Cockneys Gone?” has unclear vocals but works as an old-fashioned cockney pub singalong. Alongside Lupton’s rendition of “A Bit of a Sort” to create Del’s dating profile, Trigger (Lee VG) singing “Gaze into My Ball…you will be enthralled” is a comedic highlight as he looks into Peckham’s future.

The best numbers are more serious and poignant than you might expect for an Only Fools adaptation, reflecting on ageing and singledom in “The Girl” and conception in the moving “Tadpole Song”, accompanied by sperm firework projections. The most memorable songs are already popular hits with cracking vocals on Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day” and Simple Red’s “Holding Back the Years” with Gloria Acquaah-Harrison belting out lyrics. John Sullivan’s original theme tune “Hooky Street” especially delights fans, performed by the ensemble in a lively opening scene, slightly let down by poor sound quality - reprising this a wise decision, audibly eliciting whoops of delight.

Director Caroline Jay Ranger cleverly pulls off well-loved moments from the show and ensures both Uncle Albert and the Trotter’s infamous Reliant Regal Supervan make highly anticipated appearances. A medley of pub singalongs ends the show, hopefully looking to the characters’ futures, before returning full circle to a theme tune clap along.

The musical adaptation of Only Fools and Horses assuredly fits into the rom com genre and is bound to charm both fans and newcomers, lovingly and faithfully paying homage to a show that at its peak attracted audiences of 20 million.

Only Fools and Horses showed at The Alhambra 7th-12th October before continuing its tour: https://onlyfoolsonstage.com/#tour-dates