Big Strong Man – Montgomery Theatre, Sheffield

Writer and Director: Sam Dunstan

There is a crisis of masculinity in the world. What that crisis actually is looks different to everyone. Toxic masculinity, soft boys, not being allowed to Be A Man, being the Wrong Kind of Man – but what IS masculinity? What does it mean to be a Real Man?

That’s what Big Strong Man sets out to discuss, with four men, a pyramid of boxes labelled with masculine traits, and a dollop of audience participation. The pyramid changes priorities based on scenes performed and audience votes about ranking the importance of certain aspects of manliness, all in an attempt to create a winning Big Strong Man. It’s part sketch show, part game show, part improvisation, and a lot of unexpected heart.

The four men are Winston Trueblood Jr (Christopher Finnegan-Wright), a meninist ‘blokes bloke’ type; Bonj Blunderfield (Peter Pearson), a left-wing activist; Gaz Ladbrooks (Jonny Wakeford), an Andrew Tate wannabe; Tinternet Trollington (Tommy Carmichael), full of anxious arrested development. All stereotypical Modern Men written large, all both correct and flawed in their own way. Each has an identifying colour and a stepladder from which they pitch their arguments for each pyramid block placement, and each actor steps out of role to demonstrate in a relevant scenes. Theoretically there are 25 different scenes available, of which the audience will see five per night after an entry poll.

It’s a confusing set up to explain, and it does lead to some messiness with the show. Each individual scene is great. Tonight saw a mix of heartfelt monologues, a folk song about miners, an improvised episode of Blind Date and a poem, on the themes of Maturity, Commitment, Vulnerability, Appearance and Intelligence. Carmichael’s two scenes, a destruction of childhood ambition and a monologue about rejecting how men should look, where especially effective, and had the audience in rapt silence. Wakeford’s therapy with a bear was an excellent mix of silly and serious. Carmichael’s lyrical rant against intelligence was a masterclass of one-man performance. It would have been nice to see more of Pearson, but that was the way the sketches fell. The topics discussed were presented in engaging and affective ways, and it was lovely to see men in the audience obviously feeling both reflected and challenged. The interconnecting tissue felt a little lacking, however. The premise of voting to reconstruct masculinity is great, and the pile of jumbled boxes which inevitably fell apart was an excellent visual metaphor. But the character arguments often felt disingenuous even in character, and occasionally didn’t match the stereotype or the premise. And then the winner on this night was the most controversial option (Trueblood) after a three-way tie which wasn’t even acknowledged, so it felt a bit of a foregone conclusion anyway. The ending also feels a little tacked on as an after though, rather than truly making the serious point it intends about male suicide.

There were also a few oversights in the minor details – Ladbrooks’ colour token not matching his stepladder while the rest nailed it; scenes where one actor is too quiet while another is microphoned; a lack of solid vocal projection and annunciation which lead to lines being unintelligible. All little things that took the shine off slightly. It would be interesting to see this show again after a period of further development and refining.

It is to be hoped this does happen, as Big Strong Man is a very important show, and should absolutely be touring wider and seen by as many people as possible – men certainly, but it has something to say to every gender. It feels like family theatre for adults, educational and challenging, but friendly and accessible in doing so. It also doesn’t even try to fix the masculinity crisis it sets out to discuss; it simply presents the problem and asks the audience to reflect on what it all means both to the individual, and in their wider impact on society. The post show offer of a chat with trained counsellor Pearson is a wonderful addition too, and it is to be hoped some people took them up on this. So Big Strong Man is certainly a show to see, and a solid night out, especially for those looking around at the world, and wondering where and how they might fit into it.

Reviewed on 1 October 2026