The One Where Friendsical Came to The New Theatre

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So no one told you life was gonna be this way?

(clap, clap, clap, clap) Two and half years we have waited to see Central Perk Café. We’ll stop rhyming now. Friendsical is finally here in Cardiff, after being the first show at the New Theatre to be cancelled due to the Pandemic, the wait is over. All the Friends are here with more than a few surprise cameos, packing 10 years of romcom tales into one night at the theatre.

The musical takes you on a whistle stop tour of the whole show’s history, mostly ignoring timelines and continuity, choosing instead to deliver comedic moments aplenty and give the audience a nostalgic trip into 90’s TV. The sets did a lot of the heavy lifting in this regard, bringing Monica and Rachel’s apartment and Central Perk Café to life. The musicals creators have also found a way to deliver all of the celebrity guest cameos in one night, bringing on a celebrity guest to impersonate Danny DeVito, Brad Pitt, Tom Selleck and more. On opening night and Friday night Cardiff is lucky enough to see pop star royalty and Pussy Cat Doll Kimberley Wyatt take to the stage who wore the moustache of Richard beautifully. Later in the week Strictly’s Joanne Clifton will take on the role.

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So, how about the Friends? The cast had a daunting task ahead of them, replicating the chemistry, timing, and lovability of the titular 90’s stars. While breezing through 10 years of jokes and emotional beats there were moments where you could almost forget you were watching a new cast perform. Iconic lines in particular were polished and flung you right back in time, clearly tons of work has gone into parodying the original show. But no one put in a more stellar performance than Tim Edwards… Could he be playing Chandler more accurately? Honestly, he was spot on, right down to the facial expressions and manic arm flailing.

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Aside from the main story beats and the Friends there are still plenty of surprises in store for an audience packed full of Friends fanatics. We will not spoil them all here, but you can count on Gunther to be moodily serving the coffee, and a certain ex-girlfriend showing up at the most inconvenient moments. Ohhh Myyy Gaaaawwd… you are going to love it.

Overall, we had a wonderful time at Friendsical. As fans of the show, it felt like a nostalgic joyride through a beloved show that’s stood the test of time for nearly 30 years. Although, fair warning I think you would be completely lost if you did not have the full Friends backstory in your mind. Its hard to imagine all the jokes and cameos landing on someone who has not experienced them before. We give this one four out of five stars. It was worth the two and half years wait and is everything a Friends superfan could hope for from a musical parody.

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