The Full Monty Review

The Full Monty

The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton

This a perfect night out for hen parties but for anyone looking for a laugh and a fun time.The play follows Gaz (Kenny Doughty), who once worked in the local steel factory. He is now unemployed, separated from his wife, Mandy (Caroline Carver), and experiencing difficulties gaining access to his son, Nathan. He discovers that there is money to made from male stripping and decides to put together a group himself. Within the deserted steel factory he gets together a bunch of unlikely candidates who then rehearse for their first performance.

This is certainly a hilarious play. There are moments that are cleverly funny and fun to watch, and not just the stripping. There is a moment when Gaz and Dave finds Lomper (Craig Gazey) trying to hang himself, so the three spend a few minutes thinking about a better way to commit suicide. Another scene is set in a conservative club with a Margaret Thatcher bust standing like a blot in the middle of the stage, as Gaz tries to desecrate it.

But the Full Monty would not be a funny play, without a fantastic cast. Playing the leading character is Kenny  Doughty, who is an adventurous and honorable Gaz and who becomes nostalgic when he breaks into the steel factory he once worked in. Roger Morlidge plays an old and weary Dave who is supported by his loyal wife, Jean, played robustly by Rachel Lumberg. Sidney Cole is a crotchety 'Horse' who shows eagerness to join in the stripping and is not afraid to dance. 

The best character is Gerald, who is played wonderfully by Simon Rouse. He is desperate to get a job and reacts with anguish and fury when the others disrupt his interview. Elsewhere, the boy who played Nathan wonderfully expresses the point of view of someone who was not born during the Thatcherite era. He is a complete contrast to his father. However, the main actors did well to portray the underlying theme, which is that in this setting these men have nothing left but themselves to fall back on when trying to survive.

The story takes place amongst the skeletal remains of the steel factory. Set pieces and props are brought on to denote different settings, but the main setting is a constant reminder of the difficulties faced by the main characters. Not that there are not  moments of hijinks along the way, such as when Gaz, Dave and Nathan are locked in the factory when trying to steal a girder. What is more, the final strip is a tour de force.

Maybe the underlying theme is lost amongst the cat calls whenever some flesh is shown, but the play remains relevant as the audience of hen parties laughed at all the appropriate moments. I myself never lost sight of the issues and I thought that together with the cast this production had a lot of heart. This should be seen at a low Top Price.