Friends! The Musical Parody at New Wimbledon Theatre

Over 30 years after its pilot first aired, Friends is a show that has remained incredibly close to the hearts of viewers. Quotes from the series are so ubiquitous that it is easy to forget they stem from the NBC classic (“We were on a break!”). The public simply cannot shift the yearning to be the seventh member of the world’s most famous fictional friendship group.

Following the success of recent musicals that have fed audiences’ appetite for 90s and noughties nostalgia, such as Clueless and Cruel Intentions, it is no surprise that the next franchise to be reflected on, with the added flair of high kicks and four-part harmony, is Friends. And if the queues outside New Wimbledon Theatre are anything to go by, this craving for sentimental productions is going nowhere.

This longing for the past is introduced upon entering the auditorium. The first impression of the stage, set up like a filming lot, is soundtracked by hits like With or Without You and Torn. Perhaps unintentionally, the warm-up act, mostly consisting of the audience being taken through a bizarre vocal exercise, is so nostalgic that it takes you all the way back to primary school assemblies. That being said, Edward Leigh, who plays the MC amongst many of the characters in the show, holds the stage excellently, and is a beacon of comedic joy throughout the performance.

Unsurprisingly, any major Friends fan will be able to chuckle along to the smorgasbord of references and Easter eggs throughout the Friends! The Musical Parody. However, thinning ten seasons of a show into two hours and ten minutes of running time (including an interval) isn’t an easy feat. The result is a non-stop conveyor belt line of quotes, props and niche characters, presented so incessantly that little time is left to digest the jokes themselves. Could there be any more gags squeezed into two acts? No. No, there could not.

Friends! The Musical Parody has moments that are very subversive and clever. From the genius casting of Janice to the unexpected entrance of Marcel the monkey, the show is at its funniest when it takes what we know about Friends and turns it on its head. The times at which the cast are in cahoots with the fans are also fantastic, such as the song dedicated to the ridiculous square footage of Monica’s apartment, and the insistence that all friends in New York eat breakfast together every day, of course! Things seem to lose their magic when the sole purpose of the dialogue is to recreate moments or repeat jokes from the series word for word.

The cast are strong, and have clearly spent plenty of time studying the idiosyncrasies of their roles, alongside bearing an uncanny resemblance to their A-list counterparts. The intricate choreography by Myles Brown is truly joyous, helping to create an overall entertaining evening. Poignant and moving it is not, but for a nostalgic night of lobsters, minced beef trifle, endless cups of Central Perk coffee (for which the bill never seems to be settled?) and a whistle-stop tour through ten years of silliness, Friends! The Parody Musical ticks the boxes.