FRIENDS! The Musical Parody – New Wimbledon Theatre, Wimbledon

Book & Lyrics: Bob & Tobly McSmith
Music: Assaf Gleizner
Director: Michael Gyngell

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

“Memorable Medley“

4 / 5

Friends was a TV staple if you grew up in the 90s – following the group of six across 10 seasons packed with comedy, romance and ridiculous shenanigans. FRIENDS! The Musical Parody crams as many iconic moments from each of the 10 seasons into a two hour runtime, alongside a handful of original songs.

One thing the show does great, is paying homage to the original. Anyone that was (or still is) a Friends fan will immediately recognise the multitude of references, props and catchphrases present within every single scene. While a parody is normally a standalone show, with it’s own storyline that imitates the original style, this is more like a collection of scenes, lovingly cobbled together for fans to reminisce and remember each of them once more. The parody elements are quite faint – mostly applicable in songs such as ‘Classic Sitcom Situation’ which pokes fun at sitcom tropes and ‘Part of Their Gang’ which puts Gunther in the spotlight where he claims he always wished he could be. Outside of this, although there are some tongue in cheek references and fun poked at the scenes, it is mostly a visual tribute to the show itself.

Each thing is referenced with breakneck speed, flicking from season to season, plotline to plotline as it showcases each memorable moment in a medley of scenes. Ross’s leather trousers, Rachel’s Thanksgiving trifle and Chandler’s love affair with Janice are amongst the moments that are mentioned (which must be around 100+ if you include props, storylines & characters etc!). Spanning across the entire timeline works well for fans, rather than concentrating on few singular moments, they get everything in one fast-paced, fun montage. The songs are enjoyable, though not completely memorable, but they do a good enough job as a segue between scenes and adding moments of parody. The funny theatre references with ‘Rent’ and ‘Chicago’ song parodies are well done, an unexpected, but welcome addition.

The opening scene of both the first and second act features the backstage recording, nodding to how Friends was initially filmed in front of a live studio audience, with a warm up guy encouraging the audience to cheer, sing along and answer Friends trivia – and this element is a feature that falls completely flat, and feels bizarrely unnecessary. Although Friends was originally filmed in front of an audience, the majority of people watching the Musical Parody would have never directly experienced that, solely watching at home on TV when each episode was released, so having two overlong segments dedicated to this feels very out of place, drags on for ages, and cheapens the show as a whole by including the pantomime-esque audience participation.

Jennie Quirk’s costume design is absolutely impeccable – each of the outfits worn by the characters are completely spot on, making outfits you didn’t even realise you had remembered, immediately recognisable when on stage. This is appreciated along with the myriad of props (Props By Eve), Craig Forrest-Thomas’s wigs and Andrew Exeter’s set & lighting design, which fully puts you straight into Central Perk, Monica’s apartment or the opening credits water fountain with wonderfully endearing recognition. The cast mostly do well at imitating the mannerisms and voices of the characters – though there are points where the writing adds in the catchphrases or noticeable quirks a little too often and overplays them, turning it more into caricature than comedy, but as a whole it generally has the right balance. The writing should also definitely leave out one wince inducing line about Chandler’s death, which pre Matthew Perry’s passing wouldn’t have made you bat an eyelid, but post, it feels in very poor taste.

Eva Hope as Rachel and Alicia Belgarde as Monica are the standouts within the cast and are astoundingly brilliant as the iconic pair, getting everything from accent, gestures and cadence down to a tee. If you’re sitting back far enough you may even think Aniston and Cox are on stage themselves! Enzo Benvenuti as Ross and Daniel Parkinson as Chandler Bing also do a good job, seemingly finding their feet more & more as the show progresses, and emulating their characters even better with each scene. Disappointingly, Amelia Atherton as Phoebe and Ronnie Burden as Joey don’t manage to ease into their characters as well as their counterparts. Although their acting and singing abiltiies would be fine in many other roles, as such recognisable figures, they just don’t manage to emulate as well as expected, making their portrayals of Joey and Phoebe slightly jarring against the memory of how they actually were.

This is a fun, nostalgic show that gives fans a jam-packed recap, and newbies to the show an easy to digest, cliff note style collection of the well loved sitcom.

Runs until 24th January 2026