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12 Phonebox Magazine | May 2025It has already sold out in Milton Keynes and now Only Fools and Horses The Musical charges back into our region for another run %u2013 this time in Northampton. Phonebox%u2019s Tom Johnston fi nds out more.The Trotters are back! TV%u2019s lovable Del Boy and Rodney and their family and friends are making a welcome return to our region with dates announced for Northampton%u2019s Derngate Theatre.Fresh from a sell-out run in London%u2019s West End, the show has musical contributions from the iconic duet Chas & Dave, and features the beloved theme tune as you%u2019ve never heard it before. There%u2019s an array of new songs full of character and cockney charm, making Only Fools and Horses The Musical a feel-good family celebration of traditional working-class London life in 1989 and the aspirations we all share. It%u2019s still all kicking off in Peckham. While the yuppie invasion of London is in full swing, love is in the air as Del sets out on the rocky road to fi nd his soul mate, Rodney and Cassandra prepare to say %u2018I do%u2019, and even Trigger is gearing up for a date.Meanwhile, Boycie and Marlene give parenthood one fi nal shot and Grandad takes stock of his life and decides the time has fi nally arrived to get his piles sorted.The writers of the musical, actor and comedian Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan have taken Jim%u2019s dad John Sullivan%u2019s 64 unforgettable television adventures of Del and Rodney and blended them into one clever show.%u201cMy Dad had been toying with the possibility of bringing it to the stage but sadly never got to fully commit to it,%u201d says Jim Sullivan. %u201cWhen we began developing the idea back in 2015, the fi rst thing I did was to search my Dad%u2019s notes. I discovered snippets of thoughts and ideas he%u2019d scribbled down, and I knew from talking with him that he wanted to focus on the Dates episode, his personal favourite, where Del and Raquel fi rst met. %u201cI also found a two-page opening scene, which our opening scene is based on. About six months later I was helping my Mum clear out the garage when I came across an old audio cassette tape with the words %u2018This Time Next Year%u2019 written on it. We played the tape and there was Chas and Dave (as Del and Rodney) singing %u2018We%u2019re gonna be alright, the good times are on their way!%u2019 Mum recalled that back in the late 1990%u2019s Dad had gone to Chas%u2019s studio to work on a song, and this was obviously the result. %u201cSo we had the beginning of an opening scene and what I felt would make a great and uplifting fi nal song. This was around about the time that Paul came on board and it really took off from there.%u201dPaul Whitehouse had never written a musical before when he joined to help with the show%u2019s development.%u201cI was asked to write and adapt it and had worked with CJ (Caroline Jay Ranger, the director) and the production team on the Legends tour with Harry Enfi eld,%u201d says Paul. %u201cShe had enjoyed working with me, and thought I had the wherewithal to do it %u2013 I didn%u2019t as I had never written a musical before, so it was a gradual process. %u201cI met Jim and I was very conscious of how precious the legacy was to him and his family, and for me too as someone who loved the series. But the fact that Chas Hodges and John Sullivan had already written a song together for it struck me as a positive element. It was amazing to see the musical so well received during its four years in the West End.%u201dAnd they will be hoping for the same again when the production comes to the Derngate for a cockney week of fun and games next month.Only Fools and Horse The Musical is at Northampton Derngate Theatre, 2nd-7th June.SIMPLYDEL-IGHTFUL