The one where I try to review FRIENDS! The Musical Parody, despite never having seen an episode of Friends.

I sit in the audience of Mayflower Theatre, concealing a dark secret hidden within. While the opening night of FRIENDS! The Musical Parody in Southampton goes on on-stage, and I am confronted with my life's biggest misstep… I have never seen an episode of Friends.

Yes, really. Despite the monolithic cultural impact of the biggest sitcom in the world, I have somehow never borne witness to a full-length 22-minute escapade featuring the classic six archetypes living in New York. Now, this is not to say that I have no knowledge of the television programme - cultural osmosis means I know the basic personality types of Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, and Joey (and Gunther), and YouTube shorts loves to throw on random Friends clips out of context, but surrounded by a legion of the show’s fans at Mayflower Theatre, I felt like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

FRIENDS! The Musical Parody is constructed for die-hard Friends fans. I will not fault it for that, nor will I bemoan that many of the references soared straight over my head. I expected as much, and deeply appreciate that I am not the target audience. So, when the audience bursts into applause and laughter at repeated utterances of “PIVOT”, or an over-played Chandler-mannerism, and I don’t understand the punchline, that’s still a strength of the show, because everyone else is enjoying themselves. Success!

What I can talk about, though, are the parts of the show that try to stand on their own two feet away from rehashing Friends punchlines. And, unfortunately, these are the parts that didn’t quite click for me, or seemingly for the audience. 

There are moments I appreciated, such as giving Gunther (Edward Leigh) a solo song and elevating him to just below top billing, with his desperation to be part of the titular group of friends. I found it charming and an interesting spin on established dynamics. Leigh also pulls triple-duty, and his turn as the aptly named “warm-up guy” brings us into the show in a fun way. The set design is also constructed effectively, beginning with a flatpack studio set before moving you to the show's famous locale.

However, throwaway moments and jokes that I thought should have been delivered with more emphasis seemed to dissolve on-stage. Snark asides as to how badly the show has aged, or to ‘suspend your disbelief' as to how the apartment was afforded, or drawing attention to the fact that Janice is played by the same actor as Chandler and trying to force her to wait to Chandler to get back is a really good gag, but wasn't afforded the over-egging that it deserved. Admittedly, I may be biased because of how much the duck puppet freaked me out, but I digress.

This is not a comment on the cast, who all perform the material admirably - all six nail the character impressions, and demonstrate impressive vocal range and comic timing. Daniel Parkinson is having the time of his life pulling Janis/Chandler double-duty and sells the hell out of it, and Alicia Belgarde's Monica gets to be delightfully high-strung along with some of the best notes - comedic and musical - of the show. 

The issue for me lies with the script, which doesn't offer much beyond nostalgia. If it's nostalgia that you're after, though, then you'll get what you came for and more, and I'm sure you'll leave, having had a riot of a time. I appreciate that my taste rubs up against Friends' sensibilities, and the generational gap may not quite be narrow enough to bridge, so could I BE any more disappointed (did I do it right)?