BAFTA award winning film The Full Monty has been adapted to the stage by original screen writer Simon Beaufoy and director Jack Ryder. The journey of the six lads who go from being unemployed no-hopers to popular sell-out strippers can be followed by audiences at The Hall for Cornwall from Monday, September 28 to Saturday, October 3. We caught up with cast members: Gary Lucy, Andrew Dunn, Louis Emerick, Rupert Hill, Martin Miller and Bobby Scholfield to ask them a few questions.

Has the play deviated away from the film at all?

Rupert Hill: The play very much follows the same story as the film – it’s set in Sheffield, in the eighties which was a tragic time for the city with the steelworks closing. Men who thought they had a job for life suddenly found themselves unemployed. The great thing about Simon’s script is that it looks at all the issues people faced in cities like Sheffield in the eighties but it’s also a great night out for the audience. There’s the pay off at the end, but you can really feel the audience rooting for you because they care about what the characters have been through to get to that point."

Louis Emerick: “It’s a great story about a group of guys who conquer adversity. They empower themselves and do what they can to get themselves out of this mire that they’re in. There is a serious side to the show because so many people were affected by the Thatcher government in the eighties. So many towns, especially in the north, were decimated; whole communities destroyed and I think The Full Monty shows the reality of that.”

Do you think the story holds a comment about body image?

Rupert Hill: “Thankfully, the whole point of the show is that we’re not Chippendates, we’re six ordinary guys who are doing this because they have no other options. If we were supposed to be the Chippendales then it would be horrendous, but the whole point is these are six ordinary blokes who are doing this to earn a few bob. That’s what’s nice about it being all different ages and sizes, they’re all normal chaps out there and that’s what we are.”

Is getting naked on stage a walk in the park for you guys?

Rupert Hill: “Once you agree to the job, you’ve kind of got to get over the whole naked thing. There’s no skirting around it, you know you are going to be naked in front of hundreds – no, make that thousands - of people.”

Gary Lucy: “Every job I’ve had has seemed to involve some sort of nudity! Give them want they want, I say. Seriously though, it’s got much easier. It was harder in rehearsals than it is on stage. In rehearsals, there’s no lighting so you’re literally, and excuse my terminology, standing there naked. Weird? That’s one word for it!”

Louis Emerick: “Taking my clothes off on stage isn’t as daunting now as it was when we did it the first time in rehearsals. We had just met four days ago and we were showing our bits to each other. We were very firmly looking at each other’s eyes and nothing else! As time has gone on it’s got easier and it’s just become part of the show. There’s a great atmosphere in the theatre when it happens and we all get on really well so that’s made things a lot easier.”

Andrew Dunn: “I don’t get many chances to take my clothes off at my age but I am wholeheartedly enjoying it!”