Come along to show men in Shrewsbury urged
More men should go along to watch the theatre production of the blockbuster film, The Full Monty, two of those behind the stage play at Theatre Severn have said.
Actor James Redmond and director, Rupert Hill, say only 10 to 15 per cent of their audiences are men - despite the story being about men and their insecurities.
The production has already been a hit at Theatre Severn during its return visit to Shrewsbury this week.
It tells the story of six men struggling to deal with the closure of the steel factories in Sheffield in the 1980s.
They hit on the idea of baring all, and staging a strip night, to raise some money.
The theatre version has become a firm favourite with groups of women.
Rupert, who played the part of Guy in the original stage show, which came to Shrewsbury in 2017, said things could get a little out of hand in the big cities on Fridays and Saturday nights.
"We attracted lots of hen nights and it got more than a little raucous. I remember in Blackpool the police even had to make arrests."
But he and James, who now plays Guy, say there is much more to The Full Monty that the strip scene.
"The writing is incredible, " James said.
"It tells of a time of great austerity, which men felt threatened because they had their livelihoods taken from them. It is interesting that this production is on tour is we are facing new austerity."
"When men do come along, often dragged to the theatre by their wives, they tell us they really enjoy the play and it is so much better than they were expecting."
The Full Monty is James' first theatre piece and despite his many television roles including five years in Casualty and reoccurring appearances in Hollyoaks, he admits he was extremely nervous.
"Rupert's advice was just to project my voice and the fantastic writing would do the rest," which is so true."
