The Full Monty

The by now familiar tale of the Sheffield steel workers who lose their jobs and discover the art of male stripping to earn a bob or two - and more importantly, rediscover some of their lost self-esteem, self-confidence and self-worth – made popular by an incredibly popular and successful film while having not quite reached the status of modem fable, surely isn't far off. The musical version transfers the setting somewhat bafflingly to Buffalo, USA perhaps in an attempt to demonstrate the universality of the themes beneath the surface perhaps...? I couldn't help feeling however that a particularly English way of looking at the world - such a part of the film's success - had been lost along the way: the down to earth realism, the refusal to take things too seriously, the 'stiff upper lip' sang froid in the face of potentially overwhelming odds... But there we are. The themes common to both cultures shine through however, which is fortunate as without some more substantially intelligent meat on the bones, the show would be just a very long wait - and it IS a long show - for a cheeky glimpse of male flesh.

The show opens with a couple of scenes which open up a handful of important themes which the show will go on to explore: the changing nature of the world of work and the attendant shifts in stereotypical gender roles in an ever-changing society are ideas which underpin the show's thematic thrust from the outset. Notions of sexuality, gender, masculine and feminine stereotyping, the relationships between husband and wife, father and son etc are all thrown up as the show begins and are looked into throughout the evening over the course of the production.

Full houses crowded into the theatre throughout the week and they were rewarded with a thorough and heartfelt production under the experienced and talented direction of Howard G Raw. He had clearly worked well with - and brought out the best from - his cast and crew. Heading the cast was Gary Leonard, a relative newcomer to the amateur stage, who took on the mammoth role of Jerry, the leader of the gang. A huge undertaking for any performer, Gary won the audience round - the odd vocal hiccough in 'Man' was perhaps unsurprising considering the sheer weight of stage and singing time for the character - and gave a committed performance. His scenes with Mike Wignall as Dave were particularly strong; both performers worked well together to create a real sense of spiky camaraderie. Mike endowed his character with a solid believability and charm, conveying Dave's marital worries sympathetically.
Josh Hindle brought out the comedy in the role of Malcolm effectively and yet brought out the character's hidden depths, giving a performance of humour, charm and grace. Rob Hartley was a bouncily likeable Ethan and the burgeoning relationship between Ethan and Malcolm was well played and well judged. In fact, the stand-out musical number in the show for me was 'Walk with Me', due in no small measure to their performance: a song which with less capable handling could have strayed over from endearingly sentimental into mawkishness very easily. Steve Royle brought a superbly deadpan humour to the role of Harold and his stage experience showed when knitting the boys together to become 'Hot Metal'. Antoni Savage as Horse completed the line-up of stripping steelworkers. A veteran Horse - this was his seventh time in the role! - Antoni was a firm favourite with the audience with his witty one-liners and nifty footwork. As a team, the men worked well together, creating well-rounded characters and managed to work wonders with the rather workaday book and musical score.

But what of the ladies? Kathy Anderson as Georgie and Elizabeth Rowell as Vicki both gave very strong performances as the wives of Dave and Harold: Elizabeth provided another musical highlight with her ballroom 'Cha Cha' and Kathy really breathed life into Georgie, dominating her scenes with real strength and power - excellent. Angela Boult had a huge task on her hands as Pam Lukowski, Jerry's wife: the piece asks a lot of her character as she has to convey a multitude of artistic ciphers - her character is given the task of representing the roles of mother, ex-wife, fiancée as well as the generic 'everywoman' – and Angela carried it off with aplomb.

Smaller cameo roles were also brought off adroitly by a capable and versatile cast. Mark Brady as the unsympathetic Teddy also shone as a particularly lissom member of the dance school, demonstrating that he's certainly a lovely mover. Sam Crabtree added a welcome comic touch to the funeral scene as a rather well-oiled priest, staying just the right side of panto... just! Jerry's son was well played by Jack Pany - a rather thin and thankless role which Jack did well to bring to life - and Simon Jackson proved a winner with the audience as Buddy Walsh, the male stripper who got the ladies of Buffalo - and quite a few in Colne - all a-quiver with excitement. A young man of considerable ability, Simon can clearly tum his hand - and other parts of his anatomy - to anything. Effortlessly stealing every scene she was in was Jill Hanison as Jeanette: ever-present cigarette in hand, the world-weary drawl, the shuffling gait; here was Elaine Stritch crossed with Mrs Overall. In a superb performance, Jill managed to spin the rather lifeless straw of the dialogue into comic gold with her interpretation.

Technical support was first rate and the show moved along with pace and energy, helped along by a flawless lighting plot and experienced direction. The rather odd inclusion of a pair of screens on stage informing the audience of where the action was taking place seemed rather redundant however - perhaps a case of 'we've got them so we'll jolly well use them' - as the show was put together in a way which made the setting of each scene self-evident. Lisa Manley's orchestra were on fine form and in the case of this show, Lisa managed to make the best musically of a rather average musical score, shining particularly with the lounge bar kitsch of the dance school sequence, adding a sardonic musical sheen to the scene superbly. Lisa always creates a wonderful sound and makes even the naffest score sound better than it deserves!

For me, 'The Full Monty' is a musical which has the potential to say something meaningful and worthwhile, raising many themes and ideas in its opening scenes which never really get the intelligent airing or the resolution that they might, which is a shame. The piece seems instead to favour crowd-pleasing glimpses of male flesh and the teasing build-up to the ‘big reveal' at the end which, rather ironically, undermines much of the more interesting cultural points the show seemed to wish to throw up for investigation. Nevertheless, the society did a superb job in bringing the show to life and the full house on the evening I attended certainly went home happy. To conclude, I can only echo the director Howard G Raw's sentiments in the programme in passing on my thanks and congratulations to the team at the Pendle Hippodrome Theatre. A super society with a great theatre - long may they continue to entertain us all in District 3.

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