Grand Opera House York – until Saturday 20th October 2018.
Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
5*****
The Full Monty has hit The Grand Opera House in York this week. Based on the well loved hit movie, Simon Beaufoy has adapted his own film for this award winning play.
Set in 1997 this is a story about a group of redundant Sheffield steelworkers. Wide boy Gaz, Gary Lucy, who has been touring in the role since 2014, and best mate Dave, Kai Owen, have resorted to stealing scrap metal. With Gaz being hounded by his ex wife Mandy for child support for his son Nathan, Fraser Kelly, he needs to get money somehow. After seeing how a visit by The Chippendales to the local working men’s club racked the money in, Gaz comes up with the hair brained idea of putting their own act together.
After rescuing suicidal Lomper, Joe Gill, who just becomes one of their troupe, they audition and cajole in order to get the rest of an act together. Horse’s, Louis Emerick, audition is hilarious, the mind is willing but the body has other ideas. We are also treated to the well endowed Guy, James Redmond, who can’t dance but wows in other ways and we get an eyeful, to be honest more than an eyeful. The final member of the troupe is Gerald, Andrew Dunn, their former foreman, who hasn’t plucked up the courage to tell his wife that he lost his job 6 months previous. Railroaded into becoming their choreographer, he has the not so envious task of turning the motley crew into dancers.
The play was true to the film in as much as it could be using the stage. We were treated to all the great moments of the film, the dole queue scene was an hilarious, exaggerated example and one I was waiting for, brilliant. It wasn’t afraid to tackle touchy subjects, suicide, unemployment, depression and homosexuality, all done in a fun but sympathetic way, in some ways it was a lot more open and embraced more that the screen version. Even though the film hit our screens over 20 years ago the subject matter is as relevant today as it was then.
The strong cast were really very good. From Lucy, convincing as the cheeky Gaz, Owen as the lovable Dave, who you couldn’t help cheering on and wanting him to regain the confidence in himself and his body, to the whole ensemble.
For the finale we were the audience, whooping and cheering in that working men’s club, we were part of the show, no holds barred. It was great.
Bare bottoms aplenty, did I actually get to see THE FULL MONTY? I’m not sure I should spoil the surprise, all I will say is that I left the theatre with a grin on my face listening to the excited chatter of all around me ?. A great night out with a few willy jokes thrown in, that is not just about men baring all.