The Full Monty is such a well-known and well-loved British film that even Prince Charles was once cajoled into doing the famous dance in the dole queue to Hot Stuff by Donna Summer – a scene that one recent poll voted the funniest movie moment of all time.

So a stage show of that same film was always going to have a lot to live up to.

Thankfully, the production that calls into the Bristol Hippodrome on only the third leg of a debut UK tour is written by Oscar-winner Simon Beaufoy and stars a cast fit to step into the boots and red thongs of the original celluloid version of the story about six out of work Sheffield steelworkers with nothing to lose.

Never before seeing this show did I think that there could be a link between long-running ITV police drama The Bill and Michael Winterbottom’s controversial feature film 9 Songs, where two lovers had lots of sex between seeing gigs at the Brixton Academy.

The link is two of the main actors, Simon Rouse (DCI Jack Meadows in The Bill) and Kieran O’Brien (Matt in 9 Songs). The former you would never expect to one day see naked. The latter was naked in most of his most infamous role, but nothing quite prepares you for his level of nakedness on show here.

Mixing laugh out loud humour with cutting social comedy, The Full Monty works extremely well as a piece of theatre. And the final scene as the six friends perform a striptease for a crowd begging for more has to be seen to be believed. It will no doubt be the most raucous the Bristol Hippodrome audience becomes all year.

The Full Monty finale

The Full Monty is at the Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday, March 9. For more information and to book tickets, visit www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-full-monty/bristol-hippodrome/.

2 Responses so far.

  1. Tim Mahoney says:

    This has to be the best and My wife turned down Les Miserable to come to this. Both shows the audience leave in tears only, for this one, they are tears of laughter. Definitely a ‘must see’ production as long as you don’t mind the language and adult content. BRILLIANT.

  2. Joe Clayton says:

    There was not enough dongage in this show by a long shot! For shame!!!!

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