After years of being absolutely starved for culture, London jumped at the chance to finally experience a taste of the arts, buying up every ticket to a festival paying tribute to Friends in a mere 13 minutes. As Digital Spy reports, Comedy Central UK planned the Sept. 16-20 event as “a celebration of one of the greatest sitcoms of all time,” whose timeless, universal story of friends being friends and occasionally fucking one another inside an apartment continues to resonate decades after it left the air and in every region of the globe. Unfortunately, Friends simply has too many friends to accommodate everyone, so some had to be left out—much like the classic episode, “The One Where Joey Is Executed For The Continued Survival Of The Group.”
Still, there’s some hope for those jilted British acolytes, who continue to tune in by the millions for the seemingly non-stop Friends reruns, so eager are they for programming besides 24-hour surveillance footage of the Queen. Comedy Central UK plans to release more tickets soon, which will allow more people into the East End warehouse space that will be transformed into a full-scale replica of Monica’s apartment, “home to some of the best-loved scenes from the ever-popular series”—like the scene where the Friends sit and talk, and, of course, the scene where Monica lives in her apartment. Once inside this incredible simulation of an apartment, fans can “simply put their feet up and relax on a lazy boy watching episodes of the show,” magically replicating the experience of being unemployed—just like the classic episode, “The One Where Joey Loses His Job At The Cannery.”
Other Friends-and-everyday-life activities in and around this apartment include the chance to buy coffee, play foosball, visit a blow-dry salon to get “The Rachel,” and “hang out in a New York-themed courtyard.” You can also have your picture taken in front of a replica of the fountain from the opening credits, or even on an orange sofa. Indeed, you can see why some Friends fanatics on the Comedy Central website are already screaming in all caps about feeling “BAMBOOZLED” and offering £50 to anyone willing to part with tickets that originally went for £5—just like the classic episode, “The One Where Joey Just Plum Forgets How Money Works.”
In addition to the chance to experience an apartment, FriendsFest also promises some mysterious “original props and memorabilia,” presumably featuring iconic items like these:
- Phoebe’s harpsichord.
- Chandler’s spyglass from his day job as a pirate.
- Monica’s trademark rolling pin, which she used to smack people while yelling her classic catchphrase, “That’s what’s cookin’, bub!”
- Ross’ battle-scarred armor and broadsword.
- Joey’s huge meatball sang-wich.
- The actual costume Daniel Day-Lewis wore to play Marcel The Monkey.
- The velvet rope Jennifer Aniston kept around her at all times during filming.
- Three full rooms stacked floor-to-ceiling with baggy sweaters.
- The city of London, from the classic episode where they all go to London.
- Probably some coffee mugs or some shit.
…and more. To find out for yourself, keep watch on the Comedy Central UK website for more tickets, and also live in London.