OMG! One Man Musical, by the comedy sister duo Flo & Joan (Rosie and Nicola Dempsey), had me laughing so hard I could barely breathe. At one point, I genuinely thought I might fall off my seat!
Having absolutely blown critics away at the Edinburgh Fringe and two sell-out runs at Soho Theatre, One Man Musical is now playing the Underbelly Boulevard Soho until March. George Fouracres plays the self-appointed god of musical theatre, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, who’s “taken Tim Rice’s BBC Maestro course” and written an entire musical about himself – naturally! From the minute he comes bumbling onto the stage, singing the opening number “It’s All About Me!”, we knew we were in for a treat.
With Flo & Joan on piano and drums, occasionally adding supporting vocals, Sir Andrew took us on a wild tour of his life, from his perfectly normal upbringing in not at all fancy Kensington, to his greatest success of all time, Phantom Of The Opera, and grudgingly beyond to all the not so successful ones.

This parody show certainly makes fun of ALW, but lovingly so. It’s almost a comedy self-roast in musical format and by someone who has no idea that anyone is laughing at him. In fact, the entire show feels like you’re watching a really excitable 7 year old forcing his family to watch his improvised musical. Ok, that may not sound appealing, but trust me – it’s seriously f’ing funny! About 10 minutes in he turned around and appeared to notice Flo & Joan for the first time. Shocked to see them on the stage, rather than under it “where musicians belong”, he describes them as slugs that have crawled from the pit, proclaiming that “musicians should be under the stage, they like it in the dark, they’re like Orcs – that’s where the word orchestra comes from!”
The show was crammed full of one liners, songs, and anecdotes, referencing everyone who’s ever been associated with ALW, from his wives – Sarah 1, Sarah 2, & Sarah 3 – “Madeleine hates it when I call her that” – to Elaine Paige, Margaret Thatcher, Cameron McIntosh, and of course Tim Rice (portrayed by a bag of rice due to ‘budget constraints’).






This series of Lloyd Webber parody posters, on the OMM Instagram, are genius.
If you’ve ever seen Flo & Joan perform – if not just go to YouTube now and check them out, I’ll wait… oh good you’re back – then you know that they are comedy geniuses, who do not pull any punches with their lyrics and subject matter; with ‘Sir Andrew’ being the perfect subject as he has brought us so much wonderful theatre whilst at the same time being a bit of an old white establishment Tory weirdo! Hence ideal for some affectionately tinged ridicule!
One Man Musical is a riot of laughs from start to finish, with some really funny songs, a brilliant script, and a whole lot of very impressive improv by George Fouracres! On press-night his microphone stopped working at one point, and while the sound person was putting a new one on him, he started telling an absolutely bonkers story that was obviously completely off the top of his head that had ‘Joan’ (and the audience) practically dying with laughter, whilst her sister sat almost completely poker faced throughout – an impressive feat in itself!

This is a show that must be seen to be believed, and you truly MUST go and see it. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and if – like us – you sit in the centre of the front row, you may even find yourself on the stage, arm in arm with ‘Andrew’, doing a kick-step (if you’re game)! If you love Lloyd Webber, hate him, or just want to laugh yourself silly, get your ticket now. This riotously funny, uniquely brilliant show is not to be missed.
One Man Musical is playing at Underbelly Boulevard until 2nd March.
Tickets from underbellyboulevard.com
Words by Nick Barr
Photos by Avalon UK