Amateur actors ready to do the Full Monty

The two Rotherham performers make a sizeable contrast to each other as they follow in the footsteps of Monty stars Robert Carlyle and Mark Addy in a stage show set not in South Yorkshire, but Buffalo, New York.

Chris (36), who weighs in at 16st, will be playing Dave, the character played by Addy in the film, while Jonnie (18), plays jack-the-lad Ethan in the Croft House production at the 2,500-capacity Sheffield City Hall next month.

“I know people will be expecting to see a Yorkshire show, but when they made it into a musical it was a US musical,” says Chris, who runs the Stag pub in Rotherham.

“But it is exactly the same story and rings true to life as it does in the film based in Sheffield.

“It really does have a lot more humour and they keep quite a few Yorkshire things in there.

“It’s very tongue-in-cheek and very, very funny.

“We know it appeals to a lot of women but it is a show for everybody.

“It’s not about stripping—that only comes at the very end—it’s about guys who can’t get work after being made redundant from the steelworks.

“It’s about how a lot of unemployed people end up doing all sorts of things to make a living.”

Jonnie, from Scholes, who has just finished A-levels, including the performing arts, at Thomas Rotherham College, says: “We sing, dance and act. It’s not just about the strip. It deals with serious issues, such as one character whose wife has left him and he’s on the dole bringing up a child.”

Jonnie is getting ready for the opening night by spending most of his time training in the gym.

Meanwhile Chris is learning how to dance for, as he says, some “big ass rock” numbers.

“They will bring the house down,” Chris, a qualified chef who has always worked in the hotel trade, goes on.

“But there are also the scenes where one of the characters wants to commit suicide. I also have to sing to my belly in the show, which is hilarious.

“But I guarantee everyone will have a great night out.”

Chris, who has been performing in South Yorkshire since the age of 12, is a swing singer on the clubs and took part in a Night of A Thousand Voices at the Royal Albert Hall.

Ex-rugby player Chris is full of praise for his fellow cast members, especially extrovert Denton Wilson.

Chris’s children Josh (8) and Ashleigh (6) have been to rehearsals and “were in hysterics,” according to Chris.

So will he go the full Monty?

“I’ve never been shy,” he replies.

“People will just have to buy a ticket to find out, but let’s just say there is something for the ladies!”

And Jonnie, who’s performed with groups including Rotherham Teachers’ Operatic Society in the past, says: “I’m just going to go for it, enjoy myself and make the most of it.

“My mum has already booked to go with my sister.

“On the last night my mum and dad are going with my nan, which I’m a bit worried about.”

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