The Full Monty

It is often difficult to freshen up such a well-established show but Lynne Hill and Charlotte Middleton managed to do it very successfully. The pace was good and I doubt if any more humour could be extracted from the characterisations.

I must commend Hudson Mitchell (Buddy ‘Keno’ Walsh) for getting the show off to lively start.

There were very strong performances from Patrick Jervis (Jerry Lukowski) and Ben Green (Dave Bukatinsky). Their characterisations were solid and they also duetted very well together. Most of the ‘knockabout’ humour centred on James Pugh (Malcolm MacGregor) and his dance moves certainly impressed the ladies in the audience. It was remarkable that Ben Adams (Ethan Girard) didn’t injure himself in all the failed attempts to run up the wall. The ex-boss of the factory, Harold Nicholls played by Chris Stanley, was blackmailed into taking part in the strip routine but he went from being reluctant to enthusiastic in a very believable role. The final member of the troupe was Noah ‘Horse’ T Simmons played by Jonathan Blake showing lightness of foot in his audition number. The singing of the whole group was excellent with some really strong harmonies. There were good performances from Connie Ross (Georgie Bukatinsky), Lucy Surtees (Pam Lukowski) as the long-suffering wives of the out of work Dave and Jerry and Kate Pinell (Vicki Nicholls) deceived by husband Harold who never told her that he was out of work. As with most of these stories there is a reliance on a whole host of characters to help unravel the plot. They are too numerous to name individually but everyone made a very good contribution so well done. I must, however, mention the very talented Zeph Rowe as Nathan, Jerry’s son. He was very confident in this role and I am sure that we will see him again in the future.

The ensembles both male and female gave powerful vocal contributions and the choreography was slick and confidently performed. There was a good orchestra under David Easto’s direction and a very effective lighting plot and good sound balance. The scene changes were quietly and efficiently carried out by the stage crew. Congratulations to everyone involved!

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