By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ****

WHEN? Friday 30 January, opens 10 February and runs through 18 April 2026 RUNTIME: 150 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

There’s a kindness and generosity of spirit about this new musical which reminds of the Olivier Award-winning The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and a final reveal so devastating we spend much of the 2nd act shedding silent tears.

• Read on for reasons including how this is a a feelgood musical with heartfelt songs that won’t fail to put a spring in your step

The songs by Passenger are folk-infused which fits with the initial Westcountry setting, capable of extraordinary melancholy but also occasionally uplifting, important for such a propulsive tale which makes for an involving watch.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry was a 2012 novel by Rachel Joyce which became a 2023 film starring national treasures Jim Broadbent (A Very, Very, Very Dark Matter, Bridge Theatre) and Penelope Wilton (Backstairs Billy, Harold Pinter Theatre).

It’s the story of a retired everyman, the titular Fry, played by the often under-rated Mark Addy (film The Full Monty and TV’s Game Of Thrones) who decides to walk the 500 miles from his Devon home to be at the hospice bedside of an old friend.

‘Unlikely’ is definitely the most appropriate adjective for such a journey because who in their right minds would spend so long on such a trip when time is tight? But going with this idea rather than resisting proves ultimately rewarding.

It does become a pilgrimage with distance and physical challenges besetting our hero who meets colourful characters along his journey, some who need his folksy wisdom as much as he needs their help.

Instagram sees news of his story go viral and soon he is joined by fellow pilgrims as he makes his way up north and there’s even a puppet dog to elicit audience sympathy if you weren’t fully onboard about the need for such a quest.

Jenna Russell (Hello Dolly! London Palladium) has a lot of work to do to convince as Fry’s stay-at-home wife but luckily has the best songs and her performance of the beautiful Such A Simple Thing illuminates a loving marriage that might have taken a wrong turn but is retrievable.

This is a Chichester Festival Theatre transfer and Noah Mullins (listen above) steps ably into the shoes of Olivier-nominated Jack Wolfe as the mysterious Puck-like Balladeer who accompanies Fry on his travels of which we shan’t reveal much more.

Maggie Service (The Witches, National Theatre) is 1 of our favourite actresses and she’s tremendous in a variety of roles here not least in the skin-crawling flashbacks which shed light on the strength of the friendship at the heart of this tale that we also shan’t spoil by explaining too much.

We arrive at the theatre soaked through to our socks in heavy rain after a challenging day and yet leave satisfied with not a cloud in the sky following rapturous audience standing ovation.

Harold Fry might not quite be a Benjamin Button but it’s a feelgood musical with heartfelt songs that won’t fail to tug at your heart and put a spring in your step.

• Main pictures via Facebook courtesy The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry Tickets
• Have you seen Harold Fry before and what did you think of it? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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