Stripping off on stage for The Full Monty is all in a day’s work for TV actor Andrew Dunn, as he tells Katherine MacAlister

Andrew Dunn is still in shock after appearing on stage in The Full Monty in Glasgow.

“There wasn’t much point in a script,” he chuckled, “because the audience just chanted ‘get your **** out’ all the way through.

“Not that I minded, but I’ve never heard anything like it.”

Having the time of his life, the former BBC Dinnerladies star, who plays the foreman Gerald in the glorious British musical comedy set in Sheffield, and coming to Oxford’s New Theatre from November 3 for a week, adds: “There can’t be many 57-year-old men who go out on stage every night and strip in front of 2,000 women.”

But will we be as badly behaved as our Northern friends? “I dunno, they were a rowdy bunch. But it’s going extremely well,” he grins.

Accompanied by the likes of Gary Lucy, the stellar casting is going down a treat, the acting team bonding from the start, although getting naked in front of each other took some getting used to.

“The worst bit was the first rehearsal when we had to get naked in front of each other. That was very strange. The end is the ultimate bit, yet the audience go on the journey with you and the plot is touching and comedic, it’s a social commmentary on a time not long ago. And there was something about those gritty 90s films – Brassed Off, Billy Elliot, The Commitments and The Full Monty – people really loved the stories,” says the Yorkshireman.

So not much of an accent to worry about? “I’m supposed to be from Sheffield which is slightly different, although luckily most Southerners can’t tell the difference,” he laughs.

Delighted with his part, Andrew says there have already been some hilarious incidents on tour: “The spray tans for a start,” he recounts.

“We usually go in a booth but some towns don’t have them so we have to get someone in, now that’s a whole new experience,” he laughs, “and then there was a lighting malfunction the other day, so some seats could see everything...”

Learning to dance has proved another challenge: “Luckily there is no singing, but there is quite a bit of dancing, so we had to put in the extra work and learn the choreography for four or five routines. But I can’t complain because I’ve got a cracking part and some great lines. Gerald is a very interesting character, always trying to keep a lid on everything. And at the beginning he isn’t the person he turns out to be at the end.”

Not that Andrew’s career was straightforward either, acting frowned on where he came from.

“If I’d told my teachers at school that I wanted to be an actor they would have laughed at me. There were only three jobs back then anyway; teaching, mining or the shipyards.

“My father was a telephone engineer for 50 years and job security was everything, so they didn’t understand why I would want to be an actor and I didn’t know any actors growing up, so I trained as the next closest thing – a drama teacher instead.”

Finally seeing the light, Andrew decamped to acting college before he taught any drama, joining the Hull Truck Theatre in 1984 when he was 27, and hasn’t looked back since. “I have been lucky to spend 30 odd years as an actor and done well enough. I’m still aiming for the top of the tree mind, but at 57 I feel enthused but good.”

As for what we can expect when The Full Monty crew comes to Oxford, Andrew says a lot of non-theatre people buy tickets because The Full Monty is nostalgic, safe and fun. “It’s a thrill when you get good audiences, like the ones we’ve been getting, because when the iconic scenes come up you can feel them shifting in their seats and whispering in excitement.”

And will Oxford be up to it? “They’ll still be on their feet at the end,” he promises “But then I didn’t know what to expect either to be honest, it was just a job I wanted to take. I don’t get many chances to take my clothes off at my age,” he guffawed, “but I am wholeheartedly enjoying it,” he adds, before sloping off, no doubt to get a spray tan and flex his thong.

SEE IT
The Full Monty is coming to the New Theatre Oxford  from November 3 - 8. Call the box office on 0844 871 3020 or see atgtickets.com/oxford

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