“This Full Monty is full of heart, compassion, bravery, guts, courage, and a whole hell of a lotta fun.
Well, the exuberant crowd at the opening night of Scarborough Village Theatre’s production of The Theatre Guild’s The Full Monty was another highlight of the evening, making this celebration one not to miss.
Yes, future audiences, this production of Monty is one not to miss. I’m almost positive future audiences will be just as loud. That’s all part of the fun.
I’ve only seen the film and the musical, but not the play, so I did a quick online search to check if there was anything I needed to know.
The stage play closely mirrors the film. There are a few extra scenes I prefer not to spoil. What I found intriguing during my online search is that the stage play is marketed as a black comedy.
Okay, I could see that. That doesn’t mean I have to agree.
This solid community theatre opening night goes above and beyond as a black comedy, and the appreciative audience recognized it as more than that.
Directed with heart, compassion, and a whole hell of a lot of fun by Joseph van Veen (who also appears in the show), The Guild’s Full Monty is daring. These are local actors who have full-time jobs elsewhere. Stripping down in front of an audience, likely with family, friends, and work colleagues, takes a lot of courage.
Bravo to this company for taking that chance.
That’s what theatre is all about – taking risks and seeing what happens. Risk-taking in community theatre presents challenges. When it pays off, as it does in this Full Monty, the rewards are icing on the cake. Bravo to the Scarborough Theatre Guild for allowing audiences to have our cake and eat it, too.
Set in the mid-1990s in Sheffield, England, during the Margaret Thatcher era, Simon Beaufoy’s The Full Monty deals with six out-of-work steelworkers. Along with dealing with unemployment and a loss of income, there’s also a shared sense of identity loss. For these six unemployed guys, their jobs are their identity. There’s also this sense that men are a failure. As the supposed head of the house, men feel they should be able to provide for their family.
And when that sense of masculinity is stripped away, it hurts. Plenty. Some may call that toxic masculinity. However, that male sense of responsibility to provide for his family will always remain paramount.
To make some money and get by, these guys decide to perform a strip show at a local contest. Keep in mind, these six dudes are not Chippendale dancers by any means. They have different body sizes and shapes. Monty also addresses issues of body-shaming, which are handled properly. A reminder that the highly sensitive issue of suicide is also dealt with in the story.
Jackie McCowan’s set design nicely reflects the working-class atmosphere of Thatcher’s reign of unemployment. There’s a ladder on stage right that the actors use to climb up and down. Steel beams, broken windows, and angular fluorescent lighting nicely fill the stage. Emily Pople’s lighting amply fills the space. The tender moments shared between Scott Baker’s Gaz and his son, Nathan, are poignantly highlighted. Andy Roberts’ sound design once again remains primo for selecting pre-show songs from the ’90s. Several critical sound cues must be delivered on time, and they beautifully work.
Denise Daly’s costume designs are appropriate reflections of the clothing style of the 90s. At one point, I saw bright pastels and huge shoulder pads. Needless to say, I’m sure Daly must have had some fun searching for the G strings for the actors to perform the striptease.
This six-member primary ensemble cast is terrific. These guys are another reason to see the show. They listen attentively to each other and respond believably. From my seat in the house, I’m impressed with the Yorkshire accent, so kudos to Andy Roberts for his work in dialect coaching.
Gaz (Scott Baker) is separated from his wife, Mandy (Uju Umenyi). They share custody of their ten-year-old son, Nathan (a captivating and riveting performance by Eytan Marcus-Wolpert). Gaz and his best friend Dave (Scott Griffith) go back and forth, deciding on what to do regarding the one-night show. Dave has his own personal issues he’s dealing with in his relationship with his lovely wife, Jean (Melissa Wood). The others who agree to become part of this one-night strip tease act: Gerald (Marc Doucet), Lomper (Tim Gernstein), Horse (Arsalan Andrews) and Guy (Joseph van Veen) bring their own backstories forward that are funny, touching and poignant. Yes, in this woke world of ours, it’s safe and okay to say guys feel things just as women do.
The final dance number (courtesy of Lorraine Kimsa’s fitting choreography for untrained dancers) remains the highlight of the performance. I’ve never heard the raucous hooting, hollering, and cat-calling at the Village Theatre before. Again, from my seat in the house, it looked as if the guys were feeding off the audience’s energy right up to the moment they did the full monty.
And these guys bare it all – with daring bravado, teasing finesse, and just a hint of see-through if you’re sitting in the first two rows of the house.
In his Director’s Programme Note, van Veen writes that while the show dares in what it does, there’s something far more notable than having a quick peep show.
He writes that The Full Monty deals with male vulnerability.
It sure as hell does.
Again, even in our woke world, real men find it difficult to reveal what’s in their hearts because they fear being vulnerable or risking shame or criticism for their feelings. True exposure for men is showing what happens inside the heart rather than what’s behind the zipper. For example, the private moments shared between Scott Baker’s Gaz and Eytan Marcus-Wolpert’s Nathan as father and son always ring true. These moments are heartfelt and genuine.
van Veen and this cast deserve praise for showing their humanity and their fears. And for giving us a good time at the theatre to laugh and be silly. That’s okay too.
Running time: approximately two and a half hours with one intermission.
The production runs to October 25 at the Scarborough Village Theatre, 3600 Kingston Road. For tickets: theatrescarborough.com or call (416) 267-9292.
SCARBOROUGH THEATRE GUILD presents
The Full Monty by Simon Beaufoy
Produced by Darlene Thomas
Directed by Joseph van Veen
Set Designer: Jackie McCowan
Choreographer: Lorraine Kimsa
Lighting Designer: Emily Pople
Sound Designer: Andy Roberts
Costume Designer Lead: Denise Daly
Props: Heather Hyslop
Stage Manager: June Watkins
Performers: Scott Baker, Eytan Marcus-Wolpert, Scott Griffin, Marc Doucet, Tim Gernstein, Arsalan Andrews, Joseph van Veen, Uju Umenyi, Melissa Wood, Kerry Lo Bianco
Ensemble: Jackie McCowan, Jamie Obregon, Kieran Ramos, Nicola Robertson, Andy Roberts, David Rudat, Susan Sanders, Gerald Seaward, Kevin Shaver
