So no one told you life was gonna be this way: A review of Friends! The Musical Parody

From the moment Friends! The Musical Parody began, the references, easter eggs, and laughs started and didn’t stop. Starting with U2’s ‘With or Without You’ and ending with Loreta’s ‘Trouble With Boys’, the show is framed by subtle and in-your-face allusions. The cast brought the New York apartment to Coventry and are only going further and wider on their tour.

The show opened with a crowd work led compère-audience interaction. Astute listeners and fans would have heard the voiceover introduce the compère as Kip. Knowing the show (as a self-confessed, well-versed Friends fan myself), many viewers would have been keenly aware that ‘Kip’ is the character name of Chandler’s old roommate before Joey moved in. The show uses camera work and a live media feed which pans not only across the audience, but also throughout the production, zooming in on or elevating musical moments.

The plot not only loosely follows the chronology of the TV show but also invokes many metatheatrical moments which elevate the parodic style

We meet all our favourite characters (the core six, Gunther, Janice, Marcel the monkey, the chick and the duck) in a camp celebration of the shows ten seasons. The plot not only loosely follows the chronology of the TV show but also invokes many metatheatrical moments which elevate the parodic style. Many guest stars and love interests were named and referred to. Joey’s “how you doin’’’ and Monica’s “I know”, as well as other iconic phrases and one-liners were musicalized in catchy, vivid numbers and each actor individually captured the essence of each characterisation brilliantly.

Alicia Belgrade’s Monica was not only vocally impressive but also embodied her character completely, whether as Fat-Monica or fat-suit-less, her physicality was captured with keen definition

Enzo Benvenuti’s well-timed comedy and intonated delivery of Ross’ “hi”, as well as his punctuated huffs and scoffs before delivering a line – leaning into the joke of the show where the characters believe it takes Ross years to get a sentence out – was brilliantly captured. Alicia Belgrade’s Monica was not only vocally impressive but also embodied her character completely, whether as Fat-Monica or fat-suit-less, her physicality was captured with keen definition. Daniel Parkinson was absolutely spectacular not only at perfecting Chandler’s squirmy, energetic quality and mannerisms. On top of that, he multi-rolled with each character he played being well-defined while honouring their parts in the world of the show as a whole.

It-girl Rachel, vocally inflected with precision, was emulated with poise by Eva Hope. Most memorably when referring to Rachel’s iconic trifle and flicking between playing the character seriously within the scene but also playing the spoof-style advertisement-like ingredients reveal she delivered both in character and with comic timing. Ronnie Burden’s Joey was commendable, from his accent to his ‘womanising’, and was slowly but surely dumbed down, punctuated many a moment resulting in a choral audience laugh. The jokester also commandeered more than one metatheatrical moment.

Amelia Altherton’s Phoebe had her “oh no’s” perfectly mimicking those immortalised on screen. Memorable moments included her stylised movements, slow-motion sequences and the recreation of the reverse psychological genius of Phoebe’s seduction from “The One When Everybody Finds Out”. Eduard Leigh just wanted to be part of the couch as he multi-rolled throughout the show, primarily as Gunther. His asides and song confronting and calling out the main characters provoked a chuckle; even at one point moaning “you never pay!”.

The production value, references and celebration of all things Friends the TV show is spectacularly commemorated through Michael Gyngell’s direction

I will say, both Wigs, Hair, Make-up and Costume Design teams did a phenomenal job at replicating iconic looks and outfits, as well as haircuts and hairstyles, that were from any one of the 236 episodes of the TV production.

The production value, references and celebration of all things Friends the TV show is spectacularly commemorated through Michael Gyngell’s direction. Could it be any more perfect for a superfan?

They’ll be there for you, so will you be there for them too?

Friends! The Musical Parody is continuing on their UK tour, finishing in Cardiff on the 2 May 2026.