The Full Monty

Review

It's not just the clothing that's stripped away

Predictably, we chaps were heavily outnumbered by women in the first-night audience for HumDrum's latest production.

And that's a shame because the American musical, like the British film on which it is based, is about much more than whether an unlikely bunch of male strippers will go 'all the way'.

It is about the emotionally crippling effects of long-term unemployment, the impact on families and relationships and the possibility of recovery.

It derives its special quality from its mixture of broad comedy with deep pathos, and although David Yazbek's music is not the sort to send the audience out singing the tunes, it reflects those moods effectively.

Caz Gilmore's directing does likewise, but considerable tightening could and should be achieved - and the band is sometimes too loud and the dialogue too quiet.

In the key role of Jerry, Darren Gilmore catches the duality of a man who has never quite grown up but desperately wants to be a father to his son (maturely played by Ben Swanson).

Peter Colley and Sheila Elsdon beautifully portray a couple where the husband says 'I used to be somebody', and Jeanette Broad is sensationally, punchily quirky as the strippers' pianist.

The lighting has magical touches, and not only at the point where we discover whether the men actually do the full monty.

Do they? I'm saying, only that it's worth finding out.

Mike Allen - The News