Full Monty the Musical
The Full Monty will leave you full to the monty with smiles and is a must see performance. It's rowdy and raucous and had the whole audience laughing and cheering all the way through.
First performed in 2013 the stage production of The Full Monty is an adapted version of the 1997 film about a group of unemployed men who decide to become strippers for a night to raise money.
The film The Full Monty was a major success upon release. It was the highest earning film in the UK until it was outsold by Titanic.
David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers's presentation of the Sheffield Theatres production has equally been a major success winning the UK Theatre Award for Best Touring Production, and will tour the UK & Ireland for the final ever time this year stopping off at the Opera house in Manchester. 18-23 February.
Adapted for the stage by the films original Oscar-winning writer Simon Beaufoy, this hilarious and heartfelt production stars Gary Lucy, Andrew Dunn, Louis Emerick, James Redmond, Joe Gill, Kai Owen and a cast of ten more and is directed by Rupert Hill.
Issues such as unemployment, custody battles, body image, sexuality and depression are all stripped bare and reflected upon in a way which doesn't dampen their poignancy or the audiences enjoyment.
Each character has their own story, and as an audience member, you feel completely drawn in to each of them. It appeals to men and women of all ages and from all classes. The girls in the play tell their own story, so audiences can connect with them too. This is testament to the writing and Ruperts excellent direction aswell as the supremely talented cast.
As Rupert had previously starred in the show he has chosen to explore areas that had interested him, and drawn out the stories of the women of the play that he felt had been secondary to the story originally. That said a further scene in the second half might have helped to draw them out more.
The playing space is dominated by a disused steelwork spilt level structure, contributing to the industrial setting and allowing additional scope for the scenes to be played at levels.
The changing background vista is brought in to show the industrial backdrop of Sheffield but each scene is incredibly clear in its location through the movement of the props by the actors. Robert Jones the Designer along with Freddie Harris and Martin Hutchinson the Stage managers are responsible for the look and technical elements of the show, which work very well. The music is a throwback to the nineties and nicely balanced with the action.
Ian West's choreography varies in complexity depending on the scene. The male cast, who are meant to be amateur performers, are given material suitable to their ability at each scene as the story progresses. All of the choreography works effectively in the playing space.
The touring company are perfectly cast. Led by Gary Lucy (Luke Morgan in Hollyoaks), as Gaz, along with Andrew Dunn (Tony in Dinnerladies) as Gerald, Louis Emerick (Mick Johnson in Brookside) as Horse, Joe Gill (Finn Barton in Emmerdale) as Lomper, Kai Owen (Pete in Hollyoaks) as Dave and James Redmond (Finn in Hollyoaks). Standout performances come from Fraser Kelly as Nathan, who portrayed Gaz's son with poignance and power.
Dave, played by Kai, is acted superbly and both deserved the standing ovation.
Although the play is set in Sheffield some actors attempts at the accent is quite distracting at first and this was noted by a number of members of the audience. This aside the entire production is well executed on every level and is the ultimate rowdy crowd-pleaser.
4 stars
first published at Frankly my dear UK