So before the
film was released I am unsure how well-known this phrase was. But now we all associate The Full Monty with
going all the way. And in this case it
means stripping all the way.
The Full Monty
tells the story of Gaz, Dave, Lomper, Horse and Gerald in the background of the
closure of the steel industry.
Gaz and Dave
are really good mates but broke. They
are trying to ‘Liberate’ some steel with Gaz’ son, Nathan. Of course this doesn’t
exactly go as planned. Further on they
meet Lomper, who is so unhappy he is attempting to unsuccessfully kill himself.
Gaz and Dave offer suggestions on how to
do it well as after all, that’s what mates do!
They are all
broke but seeing how popular The Chippendales
are they consider stripping. Well Gaz does. He has to work at his friends to talk them
into it. But of course they start to
practice and get a bit better with Gerald’s help. A classic moment is the job centre queue.
The story works
well because the characters are well defined and their individual traumas give
the play real heart. You can empathise
with their situations. You can enjoy the
dark sense of humour. The play is almost
identical to the script of the film so there are all your favourite moments. And of course I know you are all wondering
about…well the full Monty. They absolutely do it.
Gaz is played by
Gary Lucy and he gives this role such a warm affection, despite being a bit of
a prat and loser. He obviously loves his
son Nathan and this brings real heart to his role. His best mate Dave, is played by Kai Owen and
he is also a very affable character and Kai plays him perfectly. He considers himself a fat bastard but the
love of a good woman can do wonders and of course he does the full Monty!
Gerald is much
posher and hides his financial difficulties from his wife. It is such an emotional moment when she finds
out. Gerald is played by Andrew Dunn and
gave the role that perfect line between a man on the edge and maintaining his pretence
to those around him. Horse is another to perform the full Monty. Horse is played by Louis Emerick and his
moment in the play is absolutely his audition. It had the audience cheering and clapping.
Lomper is
played by Anthony Lewis and is a shy introvert, who is deeply unhappy and yet
by the end of the play begins to accept he is gay and that is okay. Anthony gives the role the room for Lomper to
grow and it is wonderful to see. He
fancies the final member of the full Monty, Guy. Guy is out and proud. Guy is played by Chris Fountain and has the
sort of body that should be in the Chippendales. What did Robbie Williams say? ‘All the best
men are gay’.
This is a play
with a heart. It is a play with real
characters and makes you laugh and cry. And leaves you with such a feel good
factor at the end. Who doesn’t want
that? Well that and of course some fit
naked men on stage!
4 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment