Review: The Full Monty at Nottingham's Theatre Royal

If you're looking for a great night with the girls then look no further than the stage version of The Full Monty.
Andrew Dunn, Anthony Lewis, Chris Fountain, Gary Lucy, Louis Emerick, Kai Owen in THE FULL MONTY credit Matt CrockettAndrew Dunn, Anthony Lewis, Chris Fountain, Gary Lucy, Louis Emerick, Kai Owen in THE FULL MONTY credit Matt Crockett
Andrew Dunn, Anthony Lewis, Chris Fountain, Gary Lucy, Louis Emerick, Kai Owen in THE FULL MONTY credit Matt Crockett

Based on the 1997 British comedy, the live performance tells the story of a group of men from Sheffield who decide to try their hand at stripping after being made unemployed.

Gaz (played by Gary Lucy) convinces five of his mates, including Dave (Kai Owen) who has a beer belly, Lomper (Anthony Lewis) who is struggling with his sexuality, Gerald (Andrew Dunn) who is trying to convince his wife he still has a job, Horse (Louis Emerick) who despite his gammy leg still has the moves and Guy (Chris Fountain) who makes up for his lack of coordination with another asset, to take their clothes off.

Gaz needs to raise money fast to pay his ex-wife maintenance so he can see his son, Nathan, played on the night by Felix Yates, who was absolutely fantastic and stole every scene he was in.

But this show is not just about stripping, it also tackles serious issues including suicide, homosexuality and a custody battle.

The performance followed the plot of the film brilliantly, particularly the iconic scene where they danced to ‘Hot Stuff’ while waiting in a queue at the job centre.

To complete the show the Theatre Royal in Nottingham became the audience at the working men’s club as the group performed what we’d all been waiting for - The Full Monty.

The audience really got into the spirit!

It’s hard to choose a stand out performance as each actor brought their roles to life and made you care about each one of them.

This show was filled with plenty of laughs as well as having heart.