A play based on the hit film, ‘The Full Monty’ follows a group of ordinary men, whose lives hadn’t gone quite as they’d hoped, and their plan to become strippers.
A brilliant and hilarious show, and a fully engaged audience to prove it.
‘The Full Monty’ follows a group of men, each with their own personal battles, who come together in with a plan to perform a strip routine at their local club. It tackles many difficult topics surrounding men’s mental health, including suicide, with humour: a challenge which could have easily been severely misjudged, but I thought it was executed perfectly.
The script was very well written by Simon Beaufoy, with jokes all the way through which had the audience laughing out loud. None of them missed, with perfect direction from Micheal Gyngell and comedic timing from the actors. But it also had plenty of feeling and integrity, and fragile masculinity was portrayed in a way that felt modest and deserving of sympathy.
The set was very impressive. It was a jigsaw of mobile pieces which slotted together in so many different ways to create a huge variety of places. The scales of each set were very cleverly implied, from the huge steelworks to the small room of the ‘job club’. High praise is deserved by the set designer, Jasmine swan, who also designed the understated but apt costumes. Not forgetting to mention the lighting, which was used well to help build each atmosphere. The music used was perfectly chosen, and although it wasn’t a musical, it had that feel-good mood during all of the numbers.
One thing that stood out to me was the transitions. Usually in the blue-outs, actors are required to be out of character or still. This never happened in this show: there was acting and direction visible during each transition which really made the production flow. The timing of the lights, effects and sound were also impeccable, which was particularly important during the final scene when the actors had to put their full trust in the crew to preserve their modesty.
The final scene, where the strip performance takes place with the six men doing ‘the full monty’ takes place, was a fabulous climax to an outstanding show. The way it was done meant the audience didn’t feel cheated as the men certainly went ‘all the way’ on stage, but the lighting meant nothing was so explicit so as to make anyone uncomfortable. The whole dance routine was hilarious and spectacular, and the audience were with the cast the whole way, whooping and clapping. It was a joy to be in the room.
The actors were all well cast, and each character was rich and lovable. Two of the roles were understudied the night I attended, but there was no hint of this whatsoever. Danny Hatchard, Oliver Joseph Brooke, Bill Ward, Neil Hurst, Ben Onwukwe and Nicholas Prasad complemented each other fantastically; it’s hard to pick one of them as a stand-out but they all deserve commendation. A particular mention to young Rowan who played Nathan. He really held his own with fantastic stage presence and delivery.
The audience were probably all older than me but I couldn’t recommend this show enough. It was energetic, warm and hilarious. I’d see it again tomorrow.