Unemployment. Body image anxiety. Depression. Father’s rights. Class struggle. Full frontal male nudity. The cornerstones of the iconic film The Full Monty are all on display here as Gaz (Gary Lucy) gathers together a troupe of former steel workers in Sheffield to earn some cash and regain some dignity in an unconventional manner. The play as much as the film is framed as equal parts engaging comedy-drama as raucous girls’ night out. I personally was more there for the former but there’s no shame in being a full-throated champion of the latter. Though this is something I struggle to understand, given the nudity arc of the performance is a lot of teasing and then one show-all at the very end. But I’ve never seen an audience give a standing ovation as fast, so what do I know?

It might seem silly to bring this up given it is not the primary appeal of the show, but I really did rate the set design. It is evocative in its primary function as a dilapidated steel mill, but also shifts easily into being a working men’s club, job centre, and conservative club. The space is used well to facilitate the blocking for the men’s routine but conveys a tone of economic depression crucial to the narrative throughout. The quality of the adaptation, written by the original screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, is very solid and accommodates a move to the stage admirably. The fact that it has such a strong supporting element in its set easily eradicates concerns that the drama would be hamstrung by its dislocation from the setting as shot in the film version.

There’s much to vaunt about in the cast but I have one significant reservation to air. Core members of the Buns of Steel troupe Dave (Kai Owen) and Gerald (Andrew Dunn) were standouts for me that gave the most compelling performances. They get some of the showier developments in the story as to how their home lives motivate their decisions, on top of which they are replete with wit and comic timing throughout. Of course, the group expands as the story proceeds and the later members are all an endearing bunch. The issue, alas, is Gary Lucy.

First of all, in the original film version, Gaz is played by Robert Carlisle and much is made of the fact he is thin and wiry, not living up to the Chippendale ideal of manhood. Gary Lucy, by contrast, is a reasonably buff fella (technical term, there). Jokes at protagonist Gaz’s expense about him being a skinny-arsed loser don’t quite add up as a result. That is of course allowable within the framework of a stage version partly predicated on giving the audience a good eyeful. Willing suspension of disbelief, etc. The big reservation is that Gary Lucy cannot do a Sheffield accent.

I am a Northerner by birth and upbringing, so this stuff counts for me even if it probably is not a priority for most attendees. Lucy certainly sounds ‘Northern’ in a generic sense that I presume people who have never travelled above Birmingham think is accurate. Lucy comes across as a little uncomfortable with the accent, especially early on when his speech is a touch halting, and he does not enunciate properly when speaking quickly. He’s still quite an endearing lead, and the enthusiastic response of the rest of the audience indicates he is satisfying a particular need – I just would have thought you could get male totty who could sound more convincing.

My griping on Northern authenticity being benched: the film version of The Fully Monty was welcomed to near universal acclaim and this is stage version is a worthy follow-up.

★★★☆☆   Fenton Coulthurst   12^th September 2018