The theatre adaptation of the groundbreaking cult classic movie The Full Monty has thrusted its way onto the stage in Manchester, making us both laugh and cry… sometimes at the same time.
On opening night, the Manchester Opera House is quite the experience, the foyer awash with excited northern women – your Nanny Pats to your Auntie Jeans and just about everything in between. There’s a hungry twinkle in all of their eyes as they practically clamber over each other to get through the doors and into their seats.
For anyone who may not have seen the 1997 classic (or you just hadn’t been born yet), the show is set in Thatcher-era Sheffield, where many of the steelworks were being closed down.
It follows Gaz (Danny Hatchard) and his best friend Dave (Neil Hurst) who, along with other members of the cast, have been let go from their jobs and are struggling to make ends meet.
Gaz’s antics have got him in trouble and he risks losing access to his son unless he can pull together the child maintenance cash.
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The local Working Men’s club is visited by the sexy male strippers The Chippendales, inspiring him to pull together a group of out of work pals to strip for cash.
The film was ahead of its time, featuring a storyline of openly gay characters (Guy, played by Jake Quickenden and Lomper, played by Nicholas Prasad) which was relatively unheard of with section 28 and the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ being prohibited at the time. This theme is carefully and comically handled within the show, although some ‘of the time’ vernacular is used early on.
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The Full Monty is currently at Manchester Opera House. Credit: Ellie KurttzThe Full Monty is currently at Manchester Opera House. Credit: Ellie Kurttz
The set on stage is based around the steelworks, with everything having an industrial feel – you are immediately taken back to the 90s terraced streets of Sheffield.
The cast are all lively. You can tell they’re excited for their first night. It was, however, a bit of a slow start in my opinion. Possibly down to me slowly being reacquainted with the storyline which I hadn’t clued myself back up on, or maybe it was the slightly dated jokes, but it took me a little while to warm up.
Whilst Neil Hurst (Dave), Bill Ward (Gerald) and Ben Onwukwe (Horse) all gave particularly stand out performances throughout the show, all of the cast performed brilliantly and were a big hit with the audience.
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We’re definitely outliers with some of the jokes, as the rest of the audience are absolutely howling practically the whole way through.
The Full Monty. Credit: Ellie Kurttz
We’re practically deafened upon the arrival of Jake Quickenden – the mums, the huns and all the grans can hardly contain themselves. One woman is even asked to calm down as she was disturbing other audience members.
As the story continues, the lads recruit their former boss and Conservative party supporter Gerald (Bill Ward) to teach them to dance. An unlikely friendship is formed, showing how hard times can cross party lines.
The final performance is something to behold – a fantastic display of body positivity, where there is literally a body for everyone. The women in the audience are losing. their. minds. One has to be asked to ‘sit down’ three times by Opera House staff.
All in all it’s a light, funny and heartwarming performance that is well worth having a ladies’ night out to watch. The show is on a short run, closing on Saturday 17 Feb, so get your tickets while you can.
Five historic Greater Manchester theatres named as ‘at risk’ of closure
Emily Sergeant
Five historic theatres in Greater Manchester have sadly been named as being ‘at risk’ of closure on an annual list.
Each January, Theatres Trust – a charity campaigning to protect the UK’s theatres – publishes its annual Theatres at Risk Register, highlighting a number of theatres across the UK that are under threat of closure, redevelopment, or severe decay, but all of which have the potential to be revived for their local communities with the right support.
This year’s list is made up of 43 buildings – five of which are in Greater Manchester, and have all featured in the past.
Each of the buildings named by Theatres Trust this year have been noted for their architectural merit, cultural heritage, or value to the local community as a performance venue.
The five venues in Greater Manchester are the Grade II-listed Tameside Theatre in Ashton-under-Lyne, Co-op Hall in the Bury town of Ramsbottom, Victoria Theatre in Salford, the famous Hulme Hippodrome, and Manchester’s oldest surviving theatre building, the Theatre Royal.
Alongside the five venues within our region, there are also a number of other venues listed across the North West as a whole.
Several venues in Lancashire have been named, including two in Blackpool and one in Morecambe, both on the coast, as well as Epstein Theatre in Liverpool and the Garrick Theatre in Southport.
Five historic Greater Manchester theatres have been named as ‘at risk’ of closure / Credit: Flickr
Theatres Trust has added five more theatres to the list this year too, all local authority owned and located outside of major cities, one of which is the Oswaldtwistle Civic Arts Centre in Lancashire, named at risk due to pressures on local authority budgets, leading to Councils seeking savings by closing their theatres.
Some good news, however, is that since the list began in 2006, more than 80 theatres have been restored, revived, or had a suitable replacement built.
And on a more local note, Theatre Royal Hyde has been removed from the 2025 Theatres at Risk Register, as although it has not returned to theatrical use, it is being maintained and used by its current owners, so the threat of harm to the building has been greatly reduced.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
Theatre
An unmissable Whitney Houston tribute event is returning to Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
A much-adored and cherished Whitney Houston tribute show is returning to Greater Manchester later this year for not one but two different shows, each channelling the charisma and energy of the pop legend.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the phenomenal theatre production, ‘Queen of the Night’, the show is visiting a multitude of stages and venues all across the UK.
0161 had to receive at least one date on this tour, partly due to being the music capital of the North and also due to the fact that this is a city many fans of the 80s diva will forever hold close to their hearts.
Houston played her final ever concert performance of her career here in this very city back in 2010, taking up residence in AO Arena for two nights of world-renowned ballads and mesmerising live vocals.
This tribute show is set to include some of the diva’s biggest and much-loved hits like ‘I Will Always Love You’, ‘How Will I Know’ and ‘The Greatest Love of All’, the audience is sure to be singing along.
Adenike Adewale is taking on the role of the American R’n’B Pop singer and is no stranger to the stage or TV, featuring on The Voice in 2021 where she sang a Whitney classic, making it to the semi-finals.
Fast forward to 1 June and the tour returns to Greater Manchester and legendary city centre space, Bridgewater Hall: an incredible room more than fit for renditions of the powerhouse vocalist.
A pair of stunning venues, two stunning shows and one incomparable voice.
It’s not only our lovely region the Queen of the Night experience will be visiting; our friends over at The Hoot have plenty of nearby opportunities to sing along too, with Yorkshire dates in Hull, Halifax, Harrogate and Bradford to name a few.
I’m definitely saving all my love for when this show visits us later this year in March, and after I buy out the front row for all my friends I’ll certainly relate to the smash 1993 single ‘I Have Nothing’.
Tickets are on sale already now – you can grab yours HERE.
Kristen MacGregor-Houlston -
16th February 2024 
