The Full Monty at The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Mel S-W
The Full Monty always reminds me of when I was younger (much younger!) when myself and my friends tried getting into the local cinema to see the film. Feeling grown up and trying to see a certificate 15 film but making the faux pas by asking for a child’s ticket! I had extremely high hopes for this play. And WOW I was not disappointed! The show had me laughing so so much! Like, laugh out loud funny! What an amazing night out, my sides hurt with all the laughter, my hands hurt from all the clapping but such cleverly delivered lines, a great bunch of actors. Such a feel good show that I highly recommend.
The Full Monty film was released in 1997 and was a British classic. Set in Sheffield it featured 6 unemployed men who meet at the job centre. It seems fitting that the play was released 10 years ago and premiered in Sheffield. This show features a host of talented actors such as Danny Hatchard (Eastenders) as Gaz, Jake Quickenden (X Factor) as Guy and Bill Ward (Holby City) as Gerald, with Neil Hurst (Coronation Street) as Dave, Ben Onwukwe (The Shawshank Redemption) as Horse and Nicholas Prasad (Around the World in 80 days) as Lomper, so a whole host of talent with experience of theatre and screen.
Wow, what can I say about the actors! Bravo all! The film is great but the actors tonight portrayed their characters perfectly. Whenever there is a child in the cast, I am impressed but was blown away by Theo Hills who played Gaz’s son Nathan. This was his first leading role and he was amazing! Such well timed insults and lines towards his father.
Danny Hatchard was a great lead, I don’t watch soaps so I wasn’t aware of who he was before the performance but was very impressed throughout. Jake Quickenden as cheeky chappy Guy looked like he was loving being on stage – and such a great bod too! Bill Ward who I recognised from Holby City did a full 360 with his character Gerald, taking him from a lonely man who was so desperate to get a job with no interest in the guys to becoming their dance teacher. Ben Onwukwe made us laugh so much with his geriatric hips and moves but he came alive when the music played. I think Neil Hurst made everyone in the room leave with a bit of a soft spot for his character Dave, he was so humorous but also made us feel sorry for him. Nicholas Prasad as Lomper delivered one of my favourite lines “you’ve got knockers, we want knobs”
The characters are all so different and this cast brought the show to life with the help of the company who undertook a lot of different roles throughout. An absolutely hilarious show with some poignant moments – brilliant!
The music from the play was so catchy and transported me back to the 90s. I wasn’t the only one who was completely taken by the music and was holding in our best singing voices. Loads of people were tapping along to songs such as You Sexy Thing, You Can Leave Your Hat On, Hot Stuff and of course Flashdance … What A Feeling. Definitely bringing back memories of my younger years. During the interval, 90s music was being played which created such a nostalgic atmosphere.
The set consisted of 3 pieces of staging which were moved around by the actors to create completely different spaces, from the entrance to the Working Man’s Club to the Job Centre and to the steel works. All the actors and stage crew were all in great 90s dress so expect a shell suit on stage!
The audience was predominantly made up of women which was really to be expected but the audience was buzzing. It was just like a girls night out, at a working man’s club on a Friday night. There was so much laughter, gasps and a well earned standing ovation at the end. So many around us were seen crying with laughter, including myself! The recommended age was 14+ because of the strong language and partial nudity, I mean … This was The Full Monty! But don’t be put off by the partial nudity, much like the film, there’s a body type for all and it’s very cleverly done!
The theatre itself is absolutely beautiful inside and our seats were amazing! We were seated in row F located in the stalls, to the right of the stage. The seats were comfortable with plenty of legroom. From this view we could see all the stage, there were just a few moments when we couldn’t see the actors when they were on the floor but this did not spoil the show. It was great being so close to the stage!
The tickets cost from £24.50 and were a very reasonable price for the tickets. Some matinee tickets start at £19.50. There are 6 more showings at The Mayflower and tickets can be purchased from
https://www.mayflower.org.uk/whats-on/full-monty-2023
Mayflower Theatre 22-26 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1GE
Rating: 5/5