The Full Monty, Mayflower Theatre – Review

Way back sometime last year, Hubby booked tickets to see The Full Monty at the Mayflower Theatre as a Valentine’s Date Night with a difference.

The stage show, adapted for the stage by Oscar-winning writer Simon Beaufoy, has been running for an incredible six years, but this is the first time we have seen it and we were not disappointed.

We were first whizzed back to 1972 when the Steel business was booming in Sheffield and the workers promised jobs for life. It was then fast forward 25 years to tell the tale of six redundant Sheffield steelworkers who turn to stripping to raise some desperately-needed cash.

If you are expecting a musical, it isn’t, although it does have a cracking soundtrack, just like the film. What you get is a tale of real people and their problems, with the play tackling issues such as unemployment, suicide, impotence, debt, male body image and homosexuality, but don’t let that put you off – the play is hilariously funny, from beginning to end.

Featuring an incredible cast including Gary Lucy (Footballers Wives / Eastenders) as Jack-the-Lad Gaz, James Redmond (Casualty) as Guy, Kai Owen (Torchwood) as Dave, Andrew Dunn (Dinnerladies) as Gerald, Joe Gill (Emmerdale) as Lomper and Louis Emerick (Brookside) as Horse, the show is set between the ruins of the steel factory, to the local working mens club where the men first stumble upon a gaggle of screaming women who are watching the Chippendales, giving them their wacky idea to raise much needed money.

The audition process for “Buns of Steel” was one of the highlights of the show and lead us in to the interval, definitely whetting the appetite for the second half.

Another highlight for us, was definitely the Job Centre scene, made famous by the film, where the cast were waiting to sign on as Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff came on the radio.

The supporting cast were just a fabulous as the leads and added real heart to the show and the scene changes were brilliantly done with dimmed lights and a booming soundtrack that made you want to get up and dance.

Of course, the whole show leads up to that amazing finale, where we became the audience for their first show, with the compere telling the lads “You’d better be good, or there’ll be a riot” before announcing the the lads would be doing “The Full Monty!!”

Did they do it?

Well of course, but a spot of clever lighting spared most of their blushes!!

It was probably one of the best nights out we have had for ages and Hubby enjoyed the show as much as I did.

The audience was a good mix of couples and ladies on a girly night out, with the show running for approximately 2 hours 30 minutes including an interval.

Tickets cost from £19.50 and are available from Mayflower.org.uk, but hurry, the show is only here until 16th February before heading off around the country. See the tour dates here.

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