The Full Monty, Birmingham Hippodrome - review and pictures

In desperation, they hit on the idea of becoming Northern England's answer to the Chippendales; slightly less glamorous granted, and yet somehow they still manage to grab the attention of their female audience. But there is so much more to this story than just stripping males and screaming women.

See the trailer for the show here:

Based on a true story and perfectly depicted in Peter Cattaneo's 1997 movie, the latest Monty tour is still a sell-out despite leaving the West End to go on the road two years ago.

The storyline touches on several emotional and controversial subjects through the stories of each of its colourful characters, including depression, divorce, unemployment, obesity and sexuality to name but a few, but all delivered via an impeccable, hilarious script, so there are very, very few dark moments.

Adapted for the stage by Simon Beaufoy in 2008, to tamper with such a successful format could have been considered risky, but fans of the film can rest easy as the original script and unforgettable music is perfectly replicated. Who can forget the dole queue where the lads dance to Donna Summer's Hot Stuff? Well it's even better on stage! Let's not forget that the soundtrack to The Full Monty movie is award-winning and so it would be madness to change anything. No, it's all there, including some iconic lines and gags as well as some amazing dance moves!

As you may expect, the language and humour in the play is at times a little coarse, but very real and never offensive; simply funny. The characterisations are completely believable. Maybe Gary Lucy as Gaz is a little more male model than Sheffield steel worker (not a bad thing ladies!), but he does offers a credible dramatic performance, especially in the tender scenes with his son and also in the doorstep fights with his feisty ex-wife where it is obvious that she has clearly moved on, as well as embracing his comic lines with gusto. He has certainly grown into the part since I last saw him play it.

Andrew Dunn offers a poignant performance as Gerald, their boss who is anxious to keep up with the Jones's and indeed to keep his wife the luxury she had become accustomed to before he lost his job. His portrayal of desperation and frustration will bring a tear to your eye and the humiliation by his wife is so cringe worthy you want to look away and yet he retains all of the comedy and sharp wit the role demands. Remember the Gnomes? Well it's still hilarious even though we've seen it so many times before. Experience shows and his is by far the strongest performance of the evening.

Young Felix Yates displays star quality as Nathan, Gaz's son, who obviously has far more good ideas and ability to manage the group than his elders. He's in such great company with this star studded cast and yet completely holds his own, stealing the show with an innocent yet knowing portrayal of his character. He is obviously embarrassed by Gaz and yet still adores his dad and these very natural emotions are so evident in his outstanding performance.

Louis Emerick as Horse, Chris Fountain as Guy, Anthony Lewis as Lomper and Kai Owen as Dave all of whom offer laugh out loud portrayals, complete a simply perfect cast. Each and every characterisation is so natural and I guess after touring these guys must very comfortable as a group and it shows. Excellent performances by all.

Although The Full Monty is really all about the guys, but let's not forget the ladies in the cast who are the personification of earthy, slightly uncouth Yorkshire lasses whose antics leave you speechless, but still crying with laughter. Their performances are inspired and not at all overshadowed by the gents.

The whole plot builds towards the inevitable finale of course and the anticipation of a glimpse of something naughty, but you know what you are going to get – a tiny flash of flesh as the lights go out – and yet that's all it needs to get the audience on its feet for a well earned standing ovation. In some cases I think people only bought a ticket for the last three minutes of the show, but they still got their full two and half hours of fun whether they liked it or not!

The Full Monty has certainly not run its course yet and will no doubt continue to delight audiences for a long time yet. It is pure entertainment and still Hot Stuff!

Runs at the Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday. For tickets visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com or call 0844 338 5000.

By Alison Norton