I had great fun at Hull New Theatre last night where The Full Monty was shown, produced by One Off Productions. It was, however, a musical version, and not the play (based on the movie), which I am more accustomed with.
Despite it being a musical and set in Buffalo, NY State, it followed the usual storyline which we are used to. Jerry, desperately behind with maintenance for his son Nathan, has been laid off, along with his mates from the local Mill. His ex gives him an ultimatum that he must find the money or lose joint custody.
In despair, he passes the local club ‘Tony’s’ where the male strip group ‘The Chippendales’ are performing, and hears groups of women screaming in encouragement at the performers. Joined by his best mate Dave, they sneak into the club. When they find out how much the strippers earn, there’s a light-bulb moment and Jerry decides to set up their own strip group for one night only.
They recruit other unemployed ex-mill workers including Harold (the supervisor), Malcolm, Ethan and Horse. An additional character who is an absolute scream is Molly on piano.
The story is so well known, but the songs not so much. There were some cracking tunes and my favourites were “Big Black Man”, brilliantly sung by Horse and “You Walk with Me”, sung by Ethan and Malcolm whose harmonisation was just beautiful.
Jerry (Russell Fallon) and Dave (Ryan Wilson) were seasoned singers and were fabulous at both acting and singing.
It has to be said, the six guys were so brave to strip in front of a live audience, and I was pleased to see Hull New Theatre’s staff preserve the guys’ dignity by preventing some audience members from filming the strip scene. so if you go along, please leave your phone camera in your pocket/bag. It stops the fun turning into sleaze.
This is a local amateur group and as usual with such groups there are some great talents out there. Many a West End star has cut their teeth in local productions. The six were brilliantly supported by a large supporting cast and there were some great sounds all night.
The Full Monty runs until Saturday evening and is well worth a visit. It’s fun, tackles modern issues such as unemployment (and the depression), body dysmorphia (looking at how this effects men too), and how work is typically divided into male and female roles.
It’s not all serious though, and there are some great comic moments throughout. Go and support this amazing theatre group.
