The Full Monty

This powerful story, set in the declining steel industry, was brought to life by this very talented cast. It had pace, energy, plenty of life and a range of emotions from despair to hope for the future. It was well paced with some strong, confident singing from all the cast throughout the performance. The choreography was well executed involving a range of dance styles. There is much more to this story than a group of men doing The Full Monty and the characters were well developed showing the effects on their lives by the closing of the steelworks and the subsequent loss of jobs. I must compliment all the cast for immersing themselves in the characterisations and for sharing their emotions with us, the audience.

It is not easy getting a show off to a solid start by a solo performer but Luke Wilkinson (Buddy (Keno) Walsh) did extremely well involving the audience in his routine. He was ably abetted by ladies from the cast cheering him on from the auditorium. Central to the whole story is the effect of the closure on the workers and their families. Adam Merrall (Jerry Lukowski) convincingly portrayed a man who was losing his wife but desperately trying to keep contact with his son, Nathan, superbly played by Oliver Floyd. Adam has a strong singing voice which he used effectively throughout his performance. Jerry’s long-suffering wife, Pam, showed her frustration with him as she moved in with the safe but boring Teddy Slaughter whose portrayal was in the safe hands of Jack Pinson. The tension between the three of them with Nathan in the middle was very effective. Dan McCloskey (Dave Bukatinsky) gave a very believable performance of a man trying to please his best mate, Jerry, whilst trying to keep his wife happy by getting a job. He was well matched in his portrayal by the talented Melissa Westhead as his wife, Georgie. The Nichols family had a different story to tell as Harold, played by Ian Shephard, had been one of the bosses at the factory and had not told his wife Vicki, played by Vicki Hardy, that he was out of work. He went out every day dressed for work as he always did. They worked really well together giving a glimpse of their life style and how shallow it was compared to that of his fellow workers. Vicki brought this out perfectly and with plenty of humour in the powerful delivery of the song ‘Life with Harold’. Ian Shephard also provided plenty of humour as he tried to prevent his secret getting out. We saw their lives start to unravel but we also saw a future for them together. The rest of the group of ex-workers were Lee Powell (Malcolm McGregor), Alex Woolliscroft (Ethan Girard) and Colin Dunkley (Noah (Horse) T. Simmons) and they also showed the quality of their singing in various solos, duets and ensembles. The iconic dance routine from ‘Singing in the Rain’ became a ‘running gag’ and was well executed by Alex. One of the highlights was the performance of Steph Coleman as Jeanette Burmeister, the pianist who just turned up. She was funny and also showed us what a talented performer she is. The six ‘strippers’ worked hard together. There were several important cameo roles from Geoff Bird (Reg Willoughby), Jo Perry (Estelle Genovese), Karen Ball (Molly McGregor), Kerrie Pittaway (Susan Hershey), Eleanor Shephard (Joanie Lish) and several by the talented Greg Yates. There was strong support both on and off stage.

The whole performance was complemented by a quality band and effective lighting and sound plots. The balance between the pit and the singers was very good and rarely was there a problem in hearing songs or underscored dialogue.

This was an excellent night’s entertainment also providing plenty of food for thought. Thank you and well done!

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