Month: November 2021

I had got a day seat/rush ticket on TodayTix for the matinee of Only Fools and Horses Musical, but when I turned up at the Theatre Royal Haymarket the notices outside said today’s performances were cancelled. As I was already in central London I tried to find an emergency replacement but TodayTix had no rush tickets left for matinees.

I checked Magic Goes Wrong and got a seat in their lowest price band. The Apollo is only a few minutes walk from the Theatre Royal Haymarket and my e- ticket arrived while I was queuing at the box office.

I saw the show pre-lockdown with the whole original cast, and I knew there had been some changes. It was still incredibly funny, and there was still a lot of audience interaction.

The view wasn’t perfect as I missed the very far left-hand side of the stage, but I don’t feel I missed very much (and everything I could see was great). Probably at least half of the audience complied with the signs asking them to wear face masks – which is higher than most other west end theatres I have been to under the current restrictions.

10/10

This is a stage adaptation of the BBC sitcom from the 1970s about Tom and Barabra Good’s quest to self-sufficiency while living next door to Jerry and Margo Leadbetter in The Avenue, Surbiton.

It referenced several storylines from the TV show (fans in the audience knew the punchlines early) with some new ones that weren’t in the TV show. The cast also did well pretending to be the characters everyone in the audience loved despite not being the late greats Richard Briers and Paul Eddington or the fabulous Felicity Kendall and Penelope Keith.

The fact it was playing reasonably local to Surbiton and also referenced nearby Kingston & Twickenham a few times added to the laughs.

The audience had probably over 50% wearing face masks, and the covid pass checks on the door didn’t hold up getting in the theatre. They also had seats for £13 & £18 in the stalls where you had a good view of everything on the stage – those further forward were possibly disadvantaged as the set was raised to allow it to revolve between the Good and Leadbetter homes.

8/10