YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR HAT ON....

Can't think of a better way of spending a Tuesday night than with watching six men strip off, eat some pizza and enjoy the company of three of my funniest female friends. Well, that happened last night when I was asked to join my nursing buddies up in Lancaster to enjoy the delights of 'The Full Monty' staged  at the Grand Theatre. We met up in a swanky little Italian restaurant and enjoyed a pretty decent little pizza before taking our seats at the very lovely Grand Theatre. The Grand incidentally is the 3rd oldest theatre in Britain dating back to 1782. Just thought I'd mention that little bit of historical trivia. Anyway, this production was put on by a local amateur dramatics group so our expectations were as low as the ticket price. The theatre was full of excited women bedecked in lip gloss and Impulse. There was a frisson of excitement as only the prospect of having males getting their kit off can muster before it was curtains up and the binoculars were out. The production was actually very good. Yes, it had some cringeworthy set changes and 'actors' that were bloody awful (think Hollyoaks meets El Dorado level), but it seemed to add to the night. There were plenty of genuinely funny comedy moments which had all four of us and the rest of the audience in roars of laughter. And then came the finale. The little old ladies in the audience suddenly dropped their knitting and polished their specs at the expectation of some male nudity and could be seen working their way up to a frenzy. Our 'actors' didn't disappoint either. Tanned, toned and nubile bodies they weren't. Far from it. But it didn't seem to matter, as trousers and shirts were peeled off, followed by the infamous thongs/posing pouches.  I looked across to my three friends who are all respectable married women who given the sight before them turned into giggling and slightly shocked teenage girls watching the proceedings through covered eyes. You would think this audience had never seen meat and two veg before, but it didn't stop most standing to their feet dancing and cheering for the kit to come off. I somehow get the impression that women enjoy this spectacle purely as good fun. Female strippers, poledancers and lapdancers seem to be viewed by men in a purely sexual and titillating way. Correct me if I'm wrong?


Anyway, great fun was had by all and I salute the group their enthusiastic production which lifted the spirits of many of Lancaster's female patronage. Big credit also to the six men who got their kit off with such aplomb. It must have been a nerve-wrecking experience and I suspect quite a few cigarettes were smoked and double brandies gulped down beforehand. 
Unfortunately, I am now left with the legacy of being unable to remove the song 'You can leave your hat on' from my brain this morning....