Review: Friendsical is a fitting love-letter to the much-loved comedy

If you were to watch Friendsical having never seen the US TV show Friends, you would have no idea what going on. But if you are a fan, or like me, have children who have recently become lovers of the iconic series, you’ll appreciate this musical parody in all its madcap glory.

The famous six took to the Derngate stage in Northampton last night, with ‘Dr Ross Geller PHD’ as the narrator, taking us on lightning tour through all ten seasons of the classic show. As he says in the opening scene: “We are…us…pretending to be actors…pretending to be us!” Which sounds ridiculous but somehow works.

Thankfully, Friendsical does not take itself too seriously and while it affectionately pokes fun at the series (Rachel’s nipples, wondering whether Joey’s attitude toward women may not go down well with a modern audience and Phoebe’s dubious guitar playing), it is essentially a love letter to the hit sitcom.

It must have been a daunting task to play such beloved characters, but the cast did a fantastic job. My favourite was Tim Edwards, who played Chandler. As he delivered his famous one-liners, it was almost like having a young Matthew Perry up on the stage. Sarah Michelle-Kelly was also a perfect Monica – and actually looked and sounded uncannily like Courtney Cox. Amelia Kinu Muus did a very funny impersonation of the always dramatic Rachel, and although Sario Solomon (Joey), Nelson Bettencourt (Ross) and Ally Retberg (Phoebe) were least like the original characters, it didn’t take anything away from their performance as they sparkled with brilliant comic timing and charisma.

As an added twist, Friendsical features a celebrity guest who turns up in random scenes desperate to star as a minor Friends character. At last night’s show, it was Jake Quickenden who got some of the biggest laughs of the night.

Northampton-based writer Michelle Larson did an amazing job of taking the audience on trip down Friends memory lane and chose the perfect iconic moments to feature (We were on a break, Ross’s leather trousers, Monica’s proposal, Richard, Rachel’s hair, Janice, to name but a few). The songs were funny and upbeat without being too cheesy – my favourite was They Know, We Know, They Know, based on the legendary Chandler-Monica secret.

It was lovely to see so many generations enjoying the show together last night, and it is testament to the timeless appeal of Friends that it is still amassing new fans, decades after it was first aired.

If you are a Friends fan looking for an evening out that couldn’t ‘be any more nostalgic’ I would highly recommend going to see Friendsical.

Friendsical runs at the Royal & Derngate until Thursday September 15. Visit royalandderngate.co.uk or call 01604 624811 to book. The show is currently on tour across the country until November 19; see friendsicallive.com for full tour dates, to book tickets for future performances and for more information about the production