Friendsical the Musical - Review

Friendsical the Musical at The Orchard Theatre in Dartford, Kent - Review

For ten whole years the world obsessively followed the story of six Friends, their comedic antics, their ‘will they, won’t they’ love stories and their up’s and down’s experiences of life, which they always went through with the support of each other.

We intensely watched, related, laughed and we loved. We loved the stories and the characters, so much so, if we didn’t want to be one of them, we wanted to date one of them! … Sadly, all good things must come to an end and in 2004 Friends left our screens for good …. Until an unnamed tv channel started repeatedly playing episodes on loop that is, but hey, this meant that the next-gen became as hooked as us oldies were. So the title of an Iconic show is well and truly deserved!

WE WERE ON A BREAK!!

After a long break of 18 years!! The UK was gifted with ‘Friendsical The Musical’ A musical parody, which brings you all the best bits of Friends, the most memorable one liners, the funny storylines, the love story between Ross and Rachel (and Gunther), Chandler and Monica and the dates in between, including ‘The one where’ Ross wears leather pants, Chandler dumps Janice, Rachel goes awol at her own wedding, Monica gets a Turkey stuck on her head, Phoebe has triplets, Joey gets a break on ‘Days of our Lives’ … it goes on!

It must have taken sooo much planning, but somehow the writers manage to cram in so much of ten year’s worth of brilliant material into just under 2 hours! Including funny original songs such as ‘ (He's her) Lobster!’ ‘You're Over Me, When Were You Under Me?’ and ‘Richard's Moustache’

Every show has a celebrity guest appearance and for The Orchard Theatre it was the turn for Harry Judd from McFly, which our audience was very happy to welcome!

With a brilliant piece of casting, for the characters Ross, Chandler, Joey, Rachel, Monica and Phoebe (who also doubled up as an amazing Janice), the performances were brilliant, singing and dancing was no challenge, and the mannerisms were spot on, in particular Tim Edwards, who played Chandler Bing, Sarah Michelle–Kelly, who played Monica Gellar and Ally Retberg who played Janice were just superb. It was literally like being in the room with the original Friends Cast! Very realistic, very funny and incredibly entertaining.

The set was simple and clever, easily moving around to replicate a café, very much like Central Perk, and the two flats, which did make you feel like you were a part of the studio audience.

If you are a fan of ‘Friends’, then we can highly recommend ‘Friendsical the Musical’ If you are not so familiar with the tv show, then it may be difficult for you to follow what is going on. The whole show is full of references and every scene is combined with various show quotes and scenarios mixed into making new scenes, it is very much down to you to understand how this clever combination works as this musical unfolds and the only way you’ll get it is by knowing the back-stories behind the references … But if you get it, you’ll love it!

Friendsical the Musical is touring the UK and currently at the Orchard Theatre In Dartford, Kent between 27th-29th October 2022. There are a few tickets left and you can find out more information or get your ticket here.

“‘The one where’ we watched, we laughed, we reminisced! All the best bits of this iconic tv show, condensed into just a couple of hours ”

— Site and Search (Things for kids in Kent)