From the Desk of Jim R: The UK Soaps, Column 3: It's Harold Pinter Times Two for "Eastenders" Star Danny Dyer/ Gary Lucy of "Hollyoaks" Does "The Full Monty/" "Blue's" Duncan James Moves from "Hollyoaks" Watery Grave to "Chicago"

By James V. Ruocco

It's goodbye, Queen Vic for "Eastenders" Danny Dyer.
And "Hello," London's West End.
No stranger to theater, Dyer will be taking a leave of absence from the popular BBC One primetime soap later this year to participate in the final production of the six-month "Pinter at the Pinter" one-act play series, which officially kicks off Sept 6th with "One for the Road/The New World Order/Mountain Language/Ashes to Ashes/The Pres and an Officer."  The series, which celebrates the 10th anniversary of Pinter's death by staging 20 plays over the course of 24 weeks, concludes on February 23, 2019.

Dyer, best known for the role of  Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter, a part he has played on "Eastenders" since Christmas Day, 2013, will star opposite Martin Freeman in Harold Pinter's "A Slight Ache" and "The Dumb Waiter," two quirky, unmissable comedies, which were written by the renowned playwright in the 1950's. The first performance is scheduled for January 31, 2019.

Says director Jamie Lloyd: "On the 10th anniversary of Harold Pinter's death, it feels very important to acknowledge his impact on our cultural and political lives.
"So, I am particularly excited to be introducing a huge body of Harold's work, which, by turns is dangerous, weird, riotously funny, beautifully lyrical and explosively political."

Prior to "Eastenders," Dyer starred in the world premiere of Harold Pinter's "Celebration" at the Almedia Theatre. The production, directed by the playwright, later transferred to New York's Lincoln Center, where it received enthusiastic reviews.
The actor worked with Pinter a second time when the playwright directed a revival of his play "No Man's Land" at the National Theatre. 
Michael Attenborough also directed Dyer in a revival of Pinter's critically-acclaimed drama "The Homecoming" opposite Nigel Lindsay and Kenneth Cranham.

"Harold Pinter was the only person who I feared but loved," recalls Dyer. "He had faith in me. He suffered all my shit because he knew I was a talented actor. He was also a tyrant too, you know, but he could get away with it because he was so enchanting."

Freeman who stars opposite Dyer in both one-acts, has appeared on "Casualty," "The Bill," "Boy Meets Girl," "Fargo" and "Sherlock." His London stage credits include "Richard III," "Volpone," "The Dispute," "Woman in Black," "The Comedians" and "The Exonerated."

"A Slight Ache," a tragicomic piece, written by Pinter is 1958, explores a married couple's fears, desires, hopes and dreams as they face an unknown future and are forced to contend with growing old and the threat of survival in a world where there are no answers and death could happen at any given moment. There's also a third character, a mysterious, but mute match seller who appears every now and then just outside the couple's garden and just stands there regardless of the weather.

Is he real? Is he someone from the couple's past? Or is he just a figment of the husband's imagination?  The playwright leaves these and other questions open for query and observation.

In "The Dumb Waiter," written by Pinter in 1957, two hit-men, Ben and Gus, are discovered sitting in a windowless basement, waiting for their next assignment. They drink tea. They read the newspaper out loud. They argue over semantics. They fight. They get irritated. And finally, they question why the dumb waiter, located in the back of the room, keeps delivering food orders when it's obvious to both men, that the claustrophobic basement they are waiting in, is not outfitted as a restaurant kitchen.

So, what exactly is going on?

Since this is Pinter, "A Dumb Waiter" is often viewed as an absurdist comedy of the purest kind with dialogue and situations that are sometimes real, sometimes quirky, sometimes nonsensical or completely open to interpretation. The strength of the piece comes from the dominant verbal power play and cheeky prattle between the two main characters.

"A Slight Ache" and "The Dumb Waiter" will be staged at the Harold Pinter Theatre (Panton St., London, UK) from January 31, 2019 through February 23, 2019.
Tickets are £15.00 to £ 99.50.
For reservations or more information, call 0844 871 7622.

Gary Lucy Bids Adieu to "Hollyoaks" Till May, 2019

Fans of "Hollyoaks" were delighted when Gary Lucy returned to the soap last year after a 15-year absence to reprise his role of  the troubled, alcoholic Luke Morgan. It's been a wild ride for both Lucy and his character. 
But all that's about to change.

Starting this week, the actor begins his nine-month long hiatus from the series to headline the brand new UK tour of "The Full Monty." Lucy also starred in a previous production of the two-act musical back in 2014.

"With 'Hollyoaks,' it's a heartbreaking break," Lucy explains. "Luke is certainly not dead and I think it'd be a shame if there wasn't more to come for him. But there's still plenty of loose ends. Trust me!"

In "The Full Monty," Lucy plays Gaz, which was played by Robert Carlyle in the film version. "Carlyle was fantastic in the role and big shoes to fill," says the actor. "But film is very different to theatre. I try to bring out the cheeky side of Gaz. He's a good guy with a good heart but he makes some daft decisions which get him into hot water.
"But what I think we both bring to the role of Gaz is the fact that he's a dad. And his son is the most important thing in his life."

"The Full Monty" charts the musical efforts of six unemployed men, four of them former steelworkers, who set out to make "fast bucks" by putting together a makeshift male stripper's act of real men and not a male revue of hot, pumped up, perfectly-honed models.
It is not to be confused with the 2000 Broadway musical adaptation by Terrence McNally that starred Patrick Wilson, Andre DeShields and Jason Danieley.

This edition of the popular musical was written by Simon Beaufoy. It is based on his own screenplay for the 1997 film of the same name. It also returns "The Full Monty" story back to its Sheffield origins rather than the Buffalo, N.Y. setting of the Broadway musical adaptation.

Rupert Hill, formally of "Coronation Street," directs. Recently, the actor played the part of Josh, Ben Bradley's son on "Hollyoaks." He also appeared in "The Full Monty" musical as Guy.

Musical numbers include "You Sexy Thing" by Hot Chocolate, "You Can Leave Your Hat On" by Tom Jones, "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown, "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer, "Flashdance...What a Feeling" by Irene Cara, "The Stripper" by David Rose, "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge, "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me") by Steve Harley and "Land of a Thousand Dances" by Wilson Puckett.

"It's a fantastic show that sells out everywhere we go," adds Lucy. "I'm very excited to be getting back on the road with it again."

Joining Lucy are Andrew Dunn as Gerald, Louis Emerick as Horse, Kai Owen as Dave, Joe Gill as Lomper and James Redmond as Guy.

Redmond is best known for his portrayal of the enigmatic Rory Finnigan, a part he played on "Hollyoaks" from 1997 to 2002 and most recently, from December 2017 to March, 2018. He also returned briefly to the Channel 4 soap in October, 2015 for the wedding of Tony and Diane O'Connor.

Gill was last seen as Finn Barton on ITV's "Emmerdale," a role he played for four years until the writers deiced to kill the character off in October, 2017. The character's "shock death" was actually an accident (gun shot, to be exact), caused by his murderous mother Emma Barton.

2018 TOUR SCHEDULE

September 6 – 15, Cheltenham Everyman

September 17 – 22, Cambridge Arts Theatre

September 24 – 29, Storyhouse, Chester

October 1 – 6, Dublin Gaiety Theatre

October 8 – 13, INEC, Killarney

October 15 – 20, Grand Opera House, York

October 22 – 27, Churchill Theatre, Bromley

October 29 – November 3, Wyvern Theatre, Swindon

November 5 – 10, Birmingham Hippodrome

November 12 – 17, Darlington Hippodrome

November 19 – 24, Stoke Regent Theatre

November 26 – December 1, Norwich Theatre Royal.

2019 TOUR SCHEDULE

February 4 – 9, Nottingham Theatre Royal

February 11 – 16, Mayflower Theatre Southampton

February 18-23, Opera House, Manchaster 

February 25-March 2, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry

March 4-9, Theatre Severn

March 11-16, Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre

March 18-23, Liverpool Empire

March 23-30, Leeds Grand Theatre

April 1-6, Southend Cliffs Theatre

April 8-13, New Hull Theatre

April 15-20, Newcastle Theatre Royal

April 22-27, King's Theatre, Glasgow

April 29-May 4, New Wimbledon Theatre

May 7 – 18, Sheffield Lyceum Theatre.

Tickets for "The Full Monty" are £20.50, £23.00, £39.50, £42.00 (prices change from venue to venue)
For reservations or more information, call the theater where "The Full Monty" is being showcased.

Duncan James Is "Chicago's" New Billy Flynn

It was a watery death for "Hollyoaks" bad boy Ryan Knight.
But Duncan James, Ryan's portrayer, has risen to the surface to become "Chicago's" new song-and-dance man.
He's excited.
We're excited.
"Hollyoaks" fans are excited.
West End theatergoers are excited.

Beginning September 10th, the former "Hollyoaks" star takes over the male lead role of Billy Flynn from Martin Kemp (the late Steve Owen on "Eastenders") in the long-running Kander and Ebb West End musical. He joins Alexandra Burke (Roxie Hart), Josephina Gabrielle (Velma Kelly), Mazz Murray (Matron Mama Morton) and Paul Rider as Amos Hart.

"I am thrilled to be going back to my favorite musical 'Chacago' as Billy," he reports. "I look a lot different from when I first started in the show 10 years ago. Hope the suit still fits!"

James is a former member of the popular boy band "Blue" The group, who has reformed itself several times over the past two decades in best known for the pop hits "All Rise," "One Love," "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word," "Curtain Falls" and 'U Make Me Wanna."
In "Chicago," he will play the smooth, fast-talking lawyer whose speciality is getting women...those accused of cold-blooded murder..acquitted and transformed into high-profile media celebrities. The actor, who played the part of Flynn before, back in 2008, will sing the popular Kandler and Ebb show tunes "Razzle Dazzle," "We Both Reached for the Gun" and "All I Care About."

James also played the role of  Warner Huntington III in the 2010 West End production of "Legally Blonde" alongside Sheridan Smith, Jill Halfpenny, Alex Gaumond and Peter Davidson.

"Chicago" is based on the 1926 play of the same name by Maurine Dallas Watkins. It is a musical satire about greed and corruption in the criminal justice system and the actual grooming of murderers into newsworthy celebrities. It features the hit songs "All That Jazz," "Nowadays," "Class," "I Can't Do It Alone" and "My Own Best Friend."

"Chicago" is being staged at the Phoenix Theatre (Charing Cross Rd., London, UK).

Tickets are £20.00 to £125.00.
For reservations or more information, call 0844 871 7629.