Stripping actors are all in it together for The Full Monty

Bill Kirwan plays Jerry – the Robert Carlyle role – ­ at Clair Hall in Haywards Heath as the gallant men of Haywards Heath Operatic Society (HHOS) prepare to disrobe for The Full Monty.

The musical version transports the show from the north of England to Buffalo, just outside New York, but Bill says that in essence it remains the same.

“The lib and the score are one of the best ever that I have been involved in. It is fantastic music. It is a joy to sing, from good ballads to really belty songs. And the libretto is interesting, a surprising, really interesting story.

“But the principal story is the same as the film, and in fact a lot of the dialogue has been transferred from the film to the show. Maybe they thought it should be in America for more general appeal as opposed to having a very specific UK setting, but I think it holds its own.

“The story is maintained, and you still have the interplay between the characters. It is still all there. You have got a bunch of guys who are down on their luck, have lost their jobs and are unemployed.

“I play Jerry, and he is very similar to the film. He is always having ideas to make money. He is divorced from his wife. He has got issues there, and he is in jeopardy of losing contact with his son Nathan.

“He has got a lot of enthusiasm, and the thing in his life that he loves above everything else is his son. He is a good father. But he is down on his luck, and he has not got the money to pay his alimony – though he absolutely loves his son to bits. He is a bit of a rogue, and he is someone who is looking to make a fast buck. One of his downsides is that he doesn’t necessarily think of the impact of what he does on the people around him, but he is fundamentally a decent bloke.”

Bill, from Haywards Heath, has more than got over any reservations he may have had.

“I wasn’t sure how I would feel about (the stripping off). But we have been rehearsing it for a while, and we have stepped over that particular line. I am comfortable with it. For the final routine, we do do the Full Monty, but the idea is that the audience only see us as silhouettes. But I am comfortable with it now. We are all in it together!”

And, as he says, it is not like they are supposed to be like the Chippendales: “The whole idea is that we are not supposed to be the best dancers, the best movers or have the best physiques...”

Tickets for the first night are £10 each. The production runs from Tuesday, October 22, to October 26. Evening performances start at 7.30pm, and there is a matinee on Saturday 26 starting at 2.30pm. Tickets are available through the society’s website or by calling the box office on 01444 455440.