Kenny Doughty is currently leading the cast of the West End transfer of The Full Monty which opens at the Noel Coward Theatre tonight (25th February 2014).
The Full Monty has been adapted by Oscar-winning writer Simon Beaufoy from his own screenplay about a group of unemployed steel workers who form a troupe of male strippers. The play also stars Craig Gazey (Lumper), Simon Rouse (Gerald), Kieran O’Brien (Guy), Roger Morlidge (Dave) and Sidney Cole (Horse).
Kenny’s theatre credits include: Small Change (Sherman, Cardiff), Troilus & Cressida (Old Vic), Accomplices (National Theatre at Crucible Theatre, Sheffield) and Present Laughter (Royal Exchange).
Just a few of his extensive television credits include: Stella, Paradox, New Tricks, Spooks Code 9, Empress’ New Clothes, Shameless, Goldplated and Blue Murder. Kenny’s film credits include: Snowpiercer, I Against I, The Strange Case of Wilheim Reich, Asylum Blackout, City Rats, The Crew, Irreversi and he won Best Actor Award at Palm Beach International Film Festival for Aryan Couple.
I recently went backstage at the Noel Coward theatre to speak to Kenny in his dressing room about why it’s the perfect time to bring The Full Monty to the West End, the huge response the play receives from audiences and how he felt when his mother-in-law brought a coach load of women from Manchester to see the show…
The Full Monty was a huge success last year. What was it like having a break and then returning to the show? Did it feel strange at first?
It was only strange because I had missed it! We made a few tweaks during the interim and we’ve just had a lovely month back on the road so it was nice to reacquaint ourselves with what we had done before and then come into the West End. This time round I feel like we’ve really got the play back, there were certain moments towards the end of last year’s tour when the theatres got so big that we forgot the story. We had done it so often so it’s been great to re-focus, re-rehearse it and really come back to what the play is about.
It’s a long time to be working on the same play, but it seems you’re showing no signs of boredom yet!
Oh god no! People ask that but I’m fascinated because the show is never the same and I always find new things every night. It’s such a joy to be a part of it! Simon’s writing is bittersweet at times and the relationship with the audience changes. I’m fascinated by this idea that you walk onstage and there are a thousand people watching you, but it’s one collective voice and it’s different every performance. Sometimes they really listen and you can hear a pin drop, sometimes they’re chatty and sometimes you can hear big belly laughs or they are out of control!
Everybody knows The Full Monty – it’s so iconic. Initially was that scary or intimidating?
I’m from Barnsley which is six miles from where the film is set so it was always an iconic film in our household and I was a huge fan of it. I had a little bit of trepidation, but we very quickly realised that it was different from the film and a theatrical play in its own right. To a certain extent it’s just like doing an Ibsen or a Chekhov, other people have played those parts before you but you can’t let that shadow hang over you. I’m really proud of it and quite confident that people will enjoy it.
The remarkable thing about the film is its charm and perhaps surprising wide appeal – can audiences expect the stage play to have a similar charm?
Yes, it has a lot of cheek and is incredibly charming. It deals with some very serious issues but the characters can laugh at themselves and the audience can laugh with them. What I think made the film so successful is that it has such a universal theme. The story can resonate and people can relate to it. I think the play does the same, I would even say more so. Everything that people love about the film is onstage, but there’s also more. It almost feels as if it should have been written as a play first!
I guess that just shows how important it is that the play was written as a piece of theatre in its own right…
It’s theatrical – there are these big set pieces, the music which people will know and these big dance sequences! At the end we bring down the fourth wall and, to a certain extent, we invite the audience to become the audience of the working men’s club when we do the final strip. The collective interaction is electric – I’ve never ever been in an audience at a theatre with this response! I love what I’m doing but I’m also jealous and would love to see what it’s like from the audience! I’m always like “wow” – it is unique, extraordinary and overwhelming at times because there is so much love for Simon’s writing.
Makes a change from doing plays at the Old Vic and National Theatre!
I know, I know, different world! It brings in so many people who have never been to the theatre before which is lovely. You have people who are big theatregoers and will come along and love and enjoy it, and then you have a new generation of people who fancy seeing The Full Monty so book to come along and see it too. It’s a great mix!
The cast of The Full Monty
Are you over the whole nudity aspect of the show now, or is it still a big thing for you?
Erm, we used to get nervous but we kind of enjoy it now, in the sense that I share this look with Simon (Rouse, who plays Gerald) and it’s a cross between the characters and the actors saying “come on, we’re going to do this”, you get to a point in your career when these things don’t come along very often. You have to be in the moment and cherish it. It’s quite extraordinary what happens with the audience’s love and us six lads doing… doing the full monty. I’ve gone from being terrified to enjoying and embracing it, we find it quite liberating! It’s an unusual thing to do! Especially because none of us are dancers, none of us work out at the gym – we’re not getting our kit off and saying “look at us, we look great” because none of us do. We’re just six blokes who happen to be actors in The Full Monty!
And I heard about your mother and mother-in-law bringing coach loads of people along…
Ah I know, well my mum’s been loads which is fine because she seen it all before. It was strange because my mother-in-law from Manchester brought a coach load of people from work [laughs], there was a part of me which went “Oh s**t, it is a little bit weird – my mother-in-law whooping and cheering as I do the final strip” – but she loved the play… I hope [laughs]!
You must be really close with the cast? You’ve all been on quite a journey together!
The cast and crew are all very close, we look after each other. There’s often someone who causes a bit of friction but this has been, touch wood it doesn’t get a bit West End-y [laughs], it’s all been very amicable.
When you accepted the role did you have any idea about the journey it would take you on?
We always hoped it would come to the West End but we didn’t know for sure. I live in America and two years ago the producer came to see me in LA and took me out for dinner. He said “I want to bring you back to the UK to do The Full Monty on stage”, and I said “Absolutely”! It’s so funny because I’m from Yorkshire and I came back from America to open the play in Sheffield! I never thought two years ago that I would be sat here in my amazing dressing room at the Noel Coward Theatre talking about it!
It must be amazing to have so much support behind the show?
I’m always especially moved when we have guys at the stage door, it’s lovely that women come out and really enjoy the play, but I like it when a guy comes up to me and I say “What did you think?” and they reply “Well, apart from the last dance I thought it was really moving, I saw a lot of my Dad in that” or “It’s a cracking story”. Contrary to belief that this play is only for women, it’s not! I don’t think it’s a play men will come and see on their own but their wives will take them and they will enjoy it.
Are you already thinking now about what’s next for you?
I always have that panic, I always have a feeling that I’ll never work again! I always feel like every job could be my last and I think that’s probably why I have been working for fifteen years. It means I really invest in what I’m doing, if you have that attitude you can enjoy and cherish every job. The easiest part of being an actor is working. The hardest part is not working. You are in a very social and creative environment where you’re constantly working with scripts and actors, directors, production designers, camera and lighting – it’s fascinating, it’s wonderful, it’s fuelling you and you can’t get enough of it – then BAM it stops. You don’t see anybody socially, you’re not reading scripts, not being creative and those times are incredibly difficult to come to terms with. You have to find something else you can use to fulfil that appetite for creativity.
Well for now you can enjoy being here in this incredible dressing room!
I never expected to be here right now. Jude Law was in this dressing room last week, I can’t quite believe I’m using the same space, I feel honoured! I’m very proud of what I’m doing now, it fills me with joy – it’s a cracking show! I’m excited about sharing this story with London and West End audiences and I think it’s the right time for this play.
Interviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
The Full Monty runs at the Noel Coward Theatre until Saturday 14th June 2014.
Click here to book tickets.
Photo Credit 1: Hugo Glendinning
Photo Credit 2: Tristram Kenton
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