Only Fools and Horses The Musical: This time next year, we’ll be singing

Watching Vinnie Jones dance and hearing him sing wasn’t on my 2024 bingo card, yet here we are. It’s a surreal sight, but it somehow works in Only Fools and Horses: The Musical. I’ve never watched a single episode of the original series, but I still enjoyed it. The writing does all the heavy lifting, full of jokes that even outsiders like me can laugh at.

It rings for thee

The first warning bell rang during the opening act.

The audience responded with a polite murmur. A hefty man sitting in the back let out a loud grunt, several ladies rummaged through their handbags, fumbling to find the elusive silent mode button on their phones.

Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason

Some siblings argue over chores; Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason, apparently, just master Chopin together. She’s a pianist born in 1996, he’s a cellist born in 1999—feel old yet? Their performance at the Barbican was nothing short of breathtaking, with a musical chemistry that made every note feel alive.

Just one more turn: When Boris Yeltsin played Civilization

In 1995, a Russian tabloid ran a story about the video game habits of politicians. The findings were predictable—many professed a fondness for Tetris, one member of parliament was rumoured to play arcades, and most claimed they were far too busy for such frivolities. But the real prize came at the end: an unnamed Kremlin source mentioned that, in his rare spare moments, President Yeltsin liked to play Civilization.