Congress Players reveal all

THE FULL MONTY, Congress Players, Oldham Coliseum, by Paul Genty
IN recent years, it occasionally seemed that the group once lauded as one of the best amateur companies in the region had become a shadow of its former self.

Well not this time: Congress celebrates its 30th anniversary this year with a brash, upfront production of one of the more brazen musicals of recent years — and reveals itself, if you’ll pardon the expression, to be right up there among the winners once again.

There has been an influx of new blood — and with this has come new energy and impetus — so much so that they carry this production to heights you wouldn’t expect of a show with a great little band and ensemble cast but six leads with no strong singers, little in the way of dance ability, almost subzero sexiness and Superman underpants.

The British movie was set in Sheffield and was a lovely broad social comedy about the loss of local industry and indefatigable spirit.

The stage show, developed by the movie’s US producers and thus done their way, moves the story to an equally ill-affected American industrial town, Buffalo, New York.

But the story is little changed from the one well known to British filmgoers, except to add rather a lot of occasionally very funny songs that nonetheless don’t extend this play-with-music very much.

The writers also worked out new ways to present key scenes: the lovely bit where the strippers can’t help but dance to piped music in the Jobcentre now occurs at a funeral instead.

But all this is irrelevant to enjoyment of the show, and here the cast — especially the six with an appointment with destiny, Gary Jones, Ian Bennett, Michael McCaw, Stuart Hall, Peter Wakefield and Mark Robinson — can barely hold in their, I was cruelly going to suggest “stomachs”, but perhaps “energy” would be a better word.

The guys gyrate, pout, spin and strip with a lot less than gusto at first, working their way and their courage up to the full monty of the finale with great timing and warmth.

Do they? Well yes‚ but it’s all done in the best possible taste and powerful in-your-face lighting. Some might be disappointed by this, but not by the rest of this fun-filled, expletive-packed, adult evening of songs and thongs.

It’s hardly surprising that tickets are getting scarce.