Entertainment

Hats off to Full Monty troupe baring (nearly) all at Grand Opera House

Star of the touring version of The Full Monty, Gary Lucy tells Gail Bell why he never tires of women screaming at him

Gary Lucy who is starring in The Full Monty at Belfast's Grand Opera House
Gary Lucy who is starring in The Full Monty at Belfast's Grand Opera House Gary Lucy who is starring in The Full Monty at Belfast's Grand Opera House

LAYING it bare, so to speak, Essex soap star and one-time ice-skater, Gary Lucy, aims to have his hat on – and the lights out – when The Full Monty shimmies into Belfast in January.

And, unlike his first "nerve-wracking" debut in the lead role of Gaz in Manchester, he is hoping the technical wizards at Belfast's Grand Opera House will dim the lights at the pertinent moment.

"I was already petrified, as The Full Monty was my first experience of live theatre," he says. "It was supposed to be 'lights out' but the system failed and there we were, at the end of the opening show, throwing our hats in the air and standing in all our glory."

For those who have never seen the smash 1997 film of the same name, the male strippers to which he is referring, have only a hat to cover their modesty before a dimmed curtain-down – leaving the Manchester audience somewhat exposed themselves.

Not that they would have been complaining: Lucy and fellow performers, Anthony Lewis, Andrew Dunn, Louis Emerick, Chris Fountain and Kai Owen, have grown accustomed to raucous cheers from excited, mostly female members, packing out auditoriums across the UK.

"Yes, the women do go wild," laughs the 35-year-old father-of-three, "but it's all part of the act. It's good fun and the screams and cheers are just everyone playing along."

He has been playing along for two years now, ever since the play – there was also a Full Monty musical version which opened in the West End in 2000 – went on tour, sticking closely to Simon Beaufoy’s original screenplay with its poignant blend of pathos and humour.

And that remains the enduring core of the story; the emotional uncovering of six very different Sheffield men who find themselves jobless and with rapidly dwindling self-respect as the once dominant steel industry collapses around them.

Livelihoods are torn apart and issues of class, unemployment, masculinity and depression jog easily alongside good humour and upbeat numbers from Donna Summer, Hot Chocolate and the headlining You Can Leave Your Hat On, a hit for Tom Jones from the movie soundtrack.

But despite the cold financial climate, warmth pervades the script, never more so than in touching moments seen between Lucy's ‘Gaz’ and his stage son 'Nathan', for whom he comes up with the cash-generating idea of forming a reimagined troupe of Sheffield-style Chippendales.

"The role is exhausting and challenging, mainly because I am on stage the whole time and am responsible for driving the story," Lucy says. "I do feel the weight of that responsibility, but it has been going well and we have had fantastic reviews."

A sense of responsibility is a trait he learned early in acting, having been thrown the daunting challenge of playing a male rape victim in Channel 4's Hollyoaks when he was only 19 – a role which earned him the 2000 best newcomer prize at the British Soap Awards.

"It is probably the thing I'm most proud of in my career to date, as, until then, television had never really dealt with male rape," Lucy says.

"I received many letters thanking me for raising awareness and saying the storyline had made them feel able to speak out."

Since then, the actor has appeared in numerous prime time shows, including EastEnders, The Bill, Casualty and Footballers' Wives, as well as starring in the BBC's Missing with Pauline Quirke and one-off drama, Whatever it Take, which, among other things, takes a swipe at the fickleness of fame.

But, despite the screaming women and success on the small screen – and also on the ice rink, after finishing runner-up in the fifth Dancing on Ice series in 2010 – Lucy's three young children keep him grounded in the real world.

"The Full Monty is a busy schedule but, apart from when I'll be in Belfast, I commute from each performance, so I'm home each evening," he says. "I'm now on a six-week break and I'm still catching up with my Christmas shopping.

"I'm really looking forward to the Belfast run as I have relatives in Northern Ireland and many are coming to see the show. My mother was born in Derry, my nan used to live in Newry and I have family in Portrush and Portstewart, so it will be like coming home.

"It's a wicked show and it will be great to be back – so long as nothing goes wrong with the lights."

:: The Full Monty opens at the Grand Opera House on January 30. Visit www.goh.co.uk