The Full Monty should be available on prescription

Theatre review by Hannah Richardson
The Full MontyThe Full Monty
The Full Monty

If you can get a ticket, don’t miss the chance to enjoy the hilarious comedy that’s on stage at Milton Keynes Theatre this week.

The Full Monty should be available on prescription.

Within minutes of curtain up, my friend and I were cackling with laughter like a couple of old crones.

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By the interval, we were laughing so hard we had tears in our eyes.

The 1998 film The Full Monty, about six out-of-work Sheffield steelworkers who hatch a plan to get rich quick by becoming male strippers, became one of the most successful British Films of all time.

For this touring production, the story has been adapted for stage by the film’s BAFTA-winning writer, Simon Beaufoy.

And it works brilliantly.

The line-up is led by EastEnders star Gary Lucy, as Gaz, and features other well-known TV faces including Andrew Dunn as Gerald, Louis Emerick as Horse and Chris Fountain as Guy.

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And both cast and storyline have made the transition from screen to stage with resounding success.

The leading lads are supported by a small cast of male and female actors who take on a variety of roles, not to mention the part of Gaz’s son, Nathan, played in rotation by four 12-year-olds, all from the north of England.

Despite the serious issues of unemployment, poverty, despair and desperation that underpin the storyline, it’s a show that fizzes with good humour and an indomitable sense of optimism.

The Full Monty is at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday Night. Catch it if you can.

Box office: 0844 871 7652 or www.atgtickts.com/miltonkeynes