Review: THE FULL MONTY, Theatre Royal Glasgow

Actors bare it all in Simon Beaufoy's award-winning adaptation of The Full Monty in Glasgow this week. A hilarious, delightful and phenomenally-acted story with an important social critique - what's not to love?

It is 1990s Sheffield, six unemployed men devise a plan to perform a strip show to raise enough cash to combat their financial struggles. Each character undergoes their own challenges through rickety rehearsals and complex personal lives, nevertheless their classic Northern English humour never wavers. The piece is laugh-out-loud hilarious, delivering a master class in comedic timing.

Six is a crowd yet every actor maintains a strong sense of individuality, playing off each other extremely well. Gaz (Danny Hatchard) is a likeable prankster desperate for partial custody of his son. His pal Dave (Neil Hurst) is highly entertaining, often providing a voice of reason to Gaz's ambitious ideas. Oliver Joseph Brooks' Guy is laid-back and saucy, Ben Onwukwe's Horse is delightfully cranky with impressive dance moves. A special mention must be given to Bill Ward, whose portrayal of Gerald's journey from uptight gnome-collector to bawdy stripper is one you don't want to miss.

Jasmine Swan's set is spectacular, with the cast arranging large skeletal structures into different configurations covered by Andrew Exeter's industrial lighting gobos. The everlasting presence of these towering structures pay homage to the industrial town's former glory. The men in the play begin helpless and forgotten, but it is empowering to see them reclaim their power.

The play touches on a variety of important issues including male beauty standards, suicide, depression, homophobia, repression and old age. It's hard to get me laughing out loud in the theatre, but I was howling throughout. The highlights were definitely the scenes with the six men - their rehearsals, dance routines and group dynamics. A few scenes exploring their backgrounds felt unnecessary, but overall a fantastic night out fully deserving of its standing ovation.

The Full Monty is at the Theatre Royal Glasgow until 24 February

Photo Credit: Ellie Kurttz

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