REVIEW: The Full Monty - Liverpool Empire Theatre

Monday night's Press Night performance of Simon Beaufoy's The Full Monty was well received by the exuberant audience at Liverpool Empire Theatre. Making it's return to the Liverpool stage, the show is an adaptation of the BAFTA award winning screenplay. David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers present the final ever UK and Ireland tour directed by Rupert Hill. The production is a mix of belly-laughs and tugs on the heart strings as it shares the story of a group of desparate unemployed men fighting individual battles. The show runs at The Empire until Saturday 23rd March.

Gary Lucy

The star-studded cast includes Gary Lucy, Andrew Dunn, Louis Emerick, Joe Gill, James Redmond and Kai Owen. Set in industrial Sheffield, the performance is honest, raw and interlaced with humour and emotion. True to the Motion picture, It follows six unemployed steel workers who take on the unlikely role of strippers. The story is one of personal struggle, triumph over adversity and most of all camaraderie amongst men united in their challenging circumstance. 

Gary Lucy plays protagonist Gaz and the audience feels compassion for his plight as he battles to gain visitation rights to his son Nathan (played by the brilliant Fraser Kelly). Louis Emerick (aka Horse) was outstanding. His sardonic delivery proves incredibly entertaining and the scene where he dances with his arthritic hips is comedy personified. Andrew Dunn (Gerald) was fantastic. You felt his anxiety as he tried to keep his employment status under wraps from his wife. Joe Gill who plays Lomper delivers a stunning performance and you can't help but feel endeared to him.

Fraser Kelly who plays  Gaz's son Nathan was magnificent as was Kai Owen, the self- deprecating ex steel worker who doesn't take himself too seriously. The synergy of the entire cast results in a tight performance with equal measures of humour and emotion.

The performance takes you on a roller-coaster ride of emotional highs and lows and has you swinging between a range of emotions; gripped with sadness and laughing hysterically. Directed by Rupert Hill and  choreographed by Ian West, this is a must-see. Featuring the same iconic songs from the film by Donna Summers, Tom Jones and Hot Chocolate, the show is worthy of the standing ovation that it received. 

The set was incredible, a triumph for designer Robert Jones. It was interchangeable and intricately designed to give so many different perspectives conducive for representing the various scenes.

Liverpool audiences certainly gave the cast a warm welcome and showed their appreciation throughout. The standing ovation at the end of the show was completely justified. There is no doubt why this show has won the prestigious UK Theatre Award for best touring production.

The Full Monty never disappoints and is beautifully adapted as a stage performance. You really get a sense of the emotional struggle but you are duly rewarded with laughter and merriment. It's a fantastic show and definitely worth a watch. You will have to be quick though as it only runs until Saturday 23rd March. It's heartfelt, brilliant and worthy of its high-acclaim. The naked truth is that this is a show worth seeing. Grab your tickets whilst you can by booking here