Review: Friends! The Musical Parody, UK Tour, Glasgow | The One Where They Sing
- Lisa in the theatre
- Nov 13
- 5 min read
Following successful runs in New York and Las Vegas, Friends! The musical parody began its first UK tour in summer 2025 and this week arrives in Glasgow. Join iconic characters Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe as they swap their New York apartments for the King's Theatre, Glasgow where you can catch their musical comedy take on the beloved 90s TV series from Tuesday 11 - Saturday 15 November 2025. Read my review below.
Friends! The Musical Parody ★★★☆☆
Review: 11 November 2025 | The King's Theatre, Glasgow
Friends! The musical parody is a comedy stage show that attempts to recreate the best bits from all 10 seasons of the beloved 90s TV series Friends, in musical theatre format, and in around 2 hours.
It's a tall ask! And indeed this show is best suited to mega-fans of the treasured American sitcom. The time constraint means that the plot takes huge leaps forward, and those going into the theatre unfamiliar with the TV sitcom storylines may wonder why Phoebe is suddenly pregnant with her brother's triplets, or why "We were on a break!" is met with winces and knowing exclamations from the audience. There isn't time for much plot development at all, rather Friends! The Musical Parody is a wild, full-throttle romp through every iconic scene and all the most quotable lines from the TV show. It's undoubtedly for the fans; continuity be damned!
Friends! The musical parody is framed as a live recording of the TV show Friends, with us, the theatre audience, as the live studio audience. It's a great concept. However the perplexing 10 minute warm up act is just frustrating, and I was impatient for them to get on with it. I was beginning to wonder if there were issues backstage and if this was some kind of filler - but no, remarkably, this does seem to be how the stage show starts.
Once the show does get going, it opens with the unforgettable script to Friends season 1, episode 1: A group of five twenty-something friends are having coffee in a bright Manhattan coffee house 'Central Perk', discussing their plans for the weekend and lamenting their disastrous love lives, when Rachel Green (Eva Hope) bursts in wearing a wet wedding dress, looking for her old friend Monica Geller (Alicia Belgarde). Rachel has just left her fiancé at the altar and this piques the interest of Monica's' older brother Ross (Enzo Benvenuti), whose marriage has just ended because his wife is now a lesbian.
From what was a slow and shaky start, the show from here picks up and hits its stride with a fast-paced display of scene after scene that satirises the plot of the celebrated TV sitcom.
Most of the skits are complemented by original, comic songs. The music excels is when it borrows from well-known musical theatre and film scores. Highlights include the 'Central Perk Tango' - an hilarious take on the 'Cell Block Tango' from Chicago, and 'Dollars An Episode' - an ingenious play on 'Season of Love' from Rent.
One of the best songs and routines in the show comes, not from one of the famous six, but from Gunther (Edward Leigh) - manager of Central Perk coffee shop - who channels his inner Ariel (The Little Mermaid) as he yearns to be 'Part Of Their Gang.' Glorious!
Casting have done a phenomenal job here as the six lead actors look and act uncannily like their famous TV counterparts. And while the actors themselves must've scrutinised every episode of the TV show in order to replicate their characters mannerism exactly, so too Craig Forrest-Thomas' wigs, hair and makeup, and Jennie Quirk's costume design must be applauded for accurately bringing these characters to life on stage. The attention to detail is astounding.
Eva Hope's Rachel is flawless. That could be Jennifer Aniston playing Rachel Green on stage with her famous 'Rachel (hair)cut; and Alicia Belgarde's Courtney Cox / Monica Geller is also spot on. The pair excel throughout the show. Their 'Two Girls, One Condom' scene is a delight; their sharp timing, stage presence and powerful voices outstanding.
Amelia Atherton's Phoebe is as quirky and kooky as the original, and Daniel Parkinson's Chandler is exceptional. His physical comedy when playing Chandler (and more!!) is some of the strongest in the show. Ross (Enzo Benvenuti) and Joey (Ronnie Burden) are not quite as uncanny as the others, but the entire cast throw themselves into their roles with endless energy, talent and obvious affection for the characters they're portraying.
The seventh member of the group Edward Leigh brings a number of side characters to life including Gunther and Tom Selleck. And it's with these clever, unexpected cameos and easter eggs that Friends! The Musical Parody hits the comedy jackpot and earns the most uproarious, genuine laughs from the crowd.
Friends! The Musical Parody has moments of brilliance but there are also times when the comedy strays a little off course. There are some superb songs but also some weak points, and the show does suffer from (I assume) not having the license rights to the original music from the TV show. The flimsy-looking set and comedy-forward script are more reminiscent of fringe theatre than of a cohesive, big-budget musical theatre spectacular. However, the cast are superb, and it is a fun-filled night out that's a welcome, nostalgic love letter to the TV show and its characters for its many devoted fans. ★★★☆☆
Friends! The Musical Parody plays at the King's Theatre, Glasgow until Saturday 15 Nov 2025. Buy tickets here: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/friends-the-musical-parody/kings-theatre-glasgow/
Visit my Instagram page to see more production photos from Friends! The Musical Parody.
Friends! The Musical Parody UK tour cast
Enzo Benvenuti Ross
Alicia Belgrade Monica
Daniel Parkinson Chandler
Eva Hope Rachel
Ronnie Burden Joey
Amelia Atherton Phoebe
Edward Leigh Gunther, Tom Selleck and Paolo
The cast is completed by Lottie Lester and Meg Darcy as Female Ensemble Covers, and Jared Thompson and Harry Mallaghan as Male Ensemble Covers.
Friends! The Musical Parody UK tour dates and venues
Friends! The Parody Musical
King's Theatre, Glasgow
Tue 11 - Sat 15 November 2025
UK Tour dates:
2025
Barn, Cirencester (14 July – 23 August 2025), Nottingham Theatre Royal (17 – 20 September), Sunderland Empire (22 – 27 September), York Grand Opera House (30 September – 4 October), Cheltenham Everyman Theatre (7 – 11 October), Wolverhampton Grand (13 – 18 October), Dublin Bord Gáis Energy Theatre (21 – 25 October), Coventry Belgrade Theatre (28 October – 1 November), Woking New Victoria Theatre (4 - 8 November), Glasgow King’s Theatre (11 - 15 November), Aylesbury Waterside Theatre (18 – 22 November), Malvern Theatre (25 – 29 November.)
2026
Southampton Mayflower Theatre (6 - 10 January), Milton Keynes Theatre (13 - 17 January), New Wimbledon Theatre (20 - 24 January), Bradford Alhambra Theatre (27 - 31 January), Edinburgh Playhouse (6 - 7 February), Buxton Opera House (10 – 14 February), Shrewsbury Severn Theatre (16 – 21 February), Torquay Princess Theatre (24 – 28 February), Hull New Theatre (2 – 7 March), Chester Storyhouse (30 March – 4 April), Cork Opera House (7 – 11 April), Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall Theatre (20 – 25 March) and Cardiff New Theatre (28 April – 2 May).
Glasgow tickets from: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/friends-the-musical-parody/kings-theatre-glasgow/
UK tour tickets from: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/friends-the-musical-parody/
