The Full Monty
*****
Mon 11th Mar, Wales Millennium Centre
The opening night for Simon Beaufoy’s The Full Monty had the Wales Millennium Centre exploding with laughter, wolf-whistles, foot-stomping and a ‘feel-good’ vibe that can’t really be matched anywhere else.
Based on the 1997 British film of the same name, The Full Monty tells the story of six down-and-out Sheffield men who are inspired by the success of Chippendale dancers (male strippers) and decide to go ‘the full monty’ for one night only. Each of the lads has their own personal issues and through the stripping and camaraderie, they manage to sort through them in their own way.
Despite the advertised ‘out-there’ premise, The Full Monty manages to remain grounded by mixing the humour that comes from average, out-of-their-depth men stripping with some more heartfelt scenes and mature themes. Suicide, body-shaming and the role of masculinity are all wrapped up amongst a post-industrial background of poverty and job-loss.
With a depressing description like that, it’s a miracle that The Full Monty manages to make light of it all, but there isn’t a single scene in the show that doesn’t make you smile. There isn’t a single weak link in the cast either. Gary Lucy and Kai Owen stand out as Gaz and Dave, giving the best mix of relatable scenes and laughs, but it would be criminal to ignore how fantastic everyone else does in their roles.
‘Feel-good’ is a phrase wrought with cliché, especially when it comes to reviewing theatre, but there isn’t really a word more fitting for The Full Monty. The whole audience was grinning from ear to ear and this reporter couldn’t help but join in.
And yes, the final dance number is as glorious as you’d want it to be. In fact, all of the scenes featuring dancing are handled with the grace you’d expect of theatre, only instead played to raucous laughter and suitably sexy tunes from the 80s. It really is chuffing brilliant.
The only real problem is trying to get Donna Summers’ Hot Stuff out of your head.
words George Foster
The Full Monty is at the Wales Millennium Centre until Sat 16 Mar. Tickets and information can be found here