The naked truth? It’s just brilliant

The Full Monty, Marlowe Theatre “The lady’s not for turning,” says Margaret Thatcher in the opening scene of The Full Monty.

And whether you have been dragged to the theatre reluctantly by friends or simply loved the 1997 film so much that you aren’t convinced a stage-adaptation can do it justice, safe to say by the time you get to The Full Monty at the end, you’ll certainly have been turned.

The comedy play – which has now been on tour for two years since it’s stint in the West End – is running at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury.

The gritty yet comical tale of a group of out-ofwork Sheffield steelworkers who happen across a rather unusual way to make money, will leave fans of the big screen resting easy as both the script and its music are perfectly replicated. Those who prefer the stage will be thrilled to see how well this brilliant British drama, explores divorce, sexuality, depression and friendship. It focuses far more on relationships than on the men getting their kit off for cash.

The cast is perfect – from Gary Lucy as embattled dad Gaz struggling to pay his ex-wife enough to see son Nathan – to Dinnerladies favourite Andrew Dunn as Gerald, the group’s desire to become Yorkshire’s answer to the Chippendales is as much captivating as it is humorous.

The language is colourful but not offensive. The audience is encouraged to laugh, whoop, and sympathise at all the right moments, not to mention simply howling in their seats for the vast majority of the performance.

Turning the final scene of the musical into the group’s ‘Bums of Steel’ performance in the working men’s club, in which the audience becomes the audience, is inspired and