Baring it all on stage

TV soap and reality stars are stripping off in a new production of the Full Monty

Since its release in 1997, the Full Monty has become a cult classic of British cinema. The working class comedy has now been turned into a stage show with the likes of Jake Quickenden, Danny Hatchard and Bill Ward stripping down to their undies on the current leg of its UK tour.

“It’s a story for everyone and it has everything – love, humour, sensitive subjects, the lot,” says former X Factor contestant Jake Quickenden, pictured right.

“So many people can relate to the characters, they draw on relationships that affect everyone. It means that everyone who watches it can feel like it's speaking to them.”

Jake, who first rose to fame on the ITV singing competition, has since appeared on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and Dancing on Ice and has toured in productions of Dreamboys and Footloose.

He will be joined by former Eastender Danny Hatchard, Coronation Street actor Bill Ward, All Creatures Great and Small’s Neil Hurst and theatre regulars Ben Onwukwe and Nicholas Prasad. The show follows a group of unemployed men from Sheffield who find themselves down on their luck after the city’s steel mills shut down. After seeing the success of a Chippendales group at a local club, the men decide to start their own strip troupe.

The show, like the film, highlights themes such as financial instability, fatherhood, body image, sexuality and male relationships.

“I’d say the Full Monty is just as important now as it was 25 years ago,” says Danny, also known for his role in BBC comedy Not Going Out.

“There used to be more of a sense of community and care for one another, and I feel social media is pushing us further and further away from our natural way of communicating. The Full Monty is a hilarious, thought-provoking show that will make you feel part of a community again.

“Who doesn’t want to experience that?”

The Full Monty will be at Canterbury’s Marlowe Theatre from Tuesday, April 9 to Saturday, April 13.

You can book tickets online or by calling 01227 787787.