Barry from EastEnders is far from Albert Square.
He鈥檚 standing in a rehearsal room in the lofty environs of the National Theatre, warming up for rehearsals by getting his vocal chords round a tongue twister.
鈥淚 want a proper cup of coffee from a copper bottomed pot,鈥 enunciates actor Shaun Williamson, over and over again.
Then he and the rest of the cast of One Man, Two Guvnors launch into the production鈥檚 final rousing musical number, Tomorrow Looks Good From Here.
It all does look good for the show鈥檚 longest 海角视频 tour, which makes Birmingham Hippodrome its second stop for a week from Monday before finally finishing at Wolverhampton鈥檚 Grand Theatre next March.
Shaun takes four months off over Christmas to star in pantomime, with Norman Pace replacing him as Charlie Clench.
鈥淚鈥檓 playing evil Abanazar in Aladdin for the sixth time, in Stevenage,鈥 he confides. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a favourite role of mine.
鈥淚 got into acting quite late, not starting drama school until I was 27 after a brief career in the Royal Navy and as a holiday camp entertainer.
鈥淚 left at 30 fully intent on being a stage actor, but within six months I was gobbled up by EastEnders.
鈥淎ll the time I was itching to get on stage. When I finally left the soap, 10 years ago, I promised myself I would do two stage jobs a year.
鈥淥ne is the obligatory pantomime but I hope the other is a quality production like this. I鈥檝e been lucky, my hit rate is good with only a couple of turkeys.鈥
He has starred on stage in the likes of Guys and Dolls, Porridge and The Ladykillers in the decade since he stopped playing hapless Barry Evans in EastEnders, but the soap role has stayed with him 鈥 and he freely admits that鈥檚 partly his own fault.
He appeared as a version of himself, who everyone called 鈥楤arry from EastEnders鈥, in the Ricky Gervais sitcoms Extras and Life鈥檚 Too Short.
Even his Twitter name is @FatBarryShaunW.
Shaun, 48, sighs good naturedly: 鈥淚 just have to put up with being called Barry, it will be on my gravestone. I was filming in Budapest recently and no-one called me Barry. I reverted back to being a fat middle-aged man who everyone ignored, and it was great. There are times I wish I could switch it off, but I know I encouraged it by doing Extras. Though I never regret doing that, I loved working on great scripts with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.鈥
Shaun is married to Melanie and they have two children.
鈥淚 had mixed feelings about touring when the children were young, but now they are teenagers and I just get a grunt from them, it鈥檚 not so much of a problem.
鈥淭he first week of a show is sheer terror while you鈥檙e bedding in, then you have to keep it fresh every night for the audience.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 dry through nerves but through complacency. It鈥檚 up to you to not lose that concentration, especially with a farce where it鈥檚 so full on. It鈥檚 vital you burst through the door at exactly the right time.鈥
One Man, Two Guvnors is set in 1960s Brighton, when Charlie owes gangster Roscoe Crabbe 拢6,000 鈥 the equivalent of about 拢100,000 today.
His problem seems to be solved when they hear that Roscoe, who is engaged to Charlie鈥檚 daughter Pauline (played by Jasmyn Banks), has been murdered. But then he turns up in Brighton, impersonated by his twin sister, Rachel.
Francis Henshall, the main role made famous by James Corden and now played by Gavin Spokes, gets a job as Roscoe鈥檚 minder, and also finds himself working for Rachel鈥檚 boyfriend Stanley Stubbers. To prevent discovery, he must keep his two bosses apart.
Shaun says: 鈥淚 spend the whole play running around, trying to find 拢6,000 and keeping an eye on my daughter.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of physical comedy. This is actually my second play in a row, after The Ladykillers, where I end up in a knife fight.
鈥淚f someone attacked me in the street now...I will still run away.鈥
In his spare time between shows, Shaun will also be busy writing 鈥 for EastEnders.
He鈥檚 returning to the soap but staying behind the scenes, after Barry was last seen being pushed to his death down a mountain by evil wife Janine.
Last year Shaun took part in a writers鈥 shadow scheme in which potential scriptwriters pen an episode of the soap as if it will be aired.
His first attempt wasn鈥檛 quite right but they asked him to have another go, so he will be writing an episode for August.
Shaun says: 鈥淚 think EastEnders is pretty good at the moment. I鈥檓 glad Barry is dead because I really don鈥檛 fancy going back as an actor. If the door is open, you always think 鈥楽hall I, shan鈥檛 I?鈥
鈥淚鈥檇 rather go into another soap, ideally as a villainous character who murders someone. What鈥檚 the point of playing another Barry?鈥
Shaun is hoping to show his versatility in his next two screen roles 鈥 playing a spy and a Roman chariot driver.
In Budapest he was making a TV mini-series about escapologist Harry Houdini, starring Adrien Brody.
鈥淚 play Reilly, Ace of Spies,鈥 chuckles Shaun. 鈥淓ven though I know Sam Neill played him when he was really fit.鈥
He went to Rickmansworth to learn how to drive chariots before filming the ITV2 comedy Plebs in Bulgaria.
Unlike Shaun, his co-star Emma Barton would love to return to EastEnders. Not least because her exit was somewhat upstaged by the death of one of Walford鈥檚 finest 鈥 Wellard the dog.
While her character of Honey Mitchell, wife of Billy, left Albert Square in the back of a cab, viewers were more bothered about Wellard being put down.
Emma, 36, says: 鈥淚鈥檝e not been in EastEnders for six years, but people still ask me 鈥榃hen are you going back to save Billy?鈥. I would love it if they asked me back. It was such an amazing experience, going from being a massive fan of the soap to being part of it.
鈥淚 also period dramas like Downton Abbey. But would I be upstairs or down? I think more down, though I鈥檇 prefer the posh costumes.鈥
Although the rest of the cast of One Man, Two Guvnors use southern accents, Dolly, love interest for Francis, is a northerner.
鈥淚鈥檓 not that good at accents,鈥 she confides. 鈥淚 played a French lady in my last play, but it was Doctor in the House so I could do a bad 鈥楢llo 鈥楢llo accent. I don鈥檛 think I can do that in a classy production like this.
鈥淭he National Theatre is just the most wonderful place to work. It was definitely on my to do list, as was this play.
鈥淲hen I first saw it, I wanted to go back the following night because I loved it that much.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 miss it, it鈥檚 too good! It鈥檚 so funny. I think it鈥檚 the best thing I鈥檝e seen on stage in a long time.鈥
Emma is no stranger to working in Birmingham, but has vowed to do something more cultural with her spare time than on previous tours. 鈥淟ast time I spent all my time in the Bullring, but now I want to see as many art galleries and museums as possible. And check out nice tea rooms.鈥
The star of One Man, Two Guvnors is Gavin Spokes, who is well aware how fortunate he is to land the role of Francis Henshall.
鈥淧eople this shape and size don鈥檛 usually get to play the main part, we鈥檙e usually the fat funny friend,鈥 he points out.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a given that Frances is rotund. You鈥檇 think you鈥檇 lose weight with all the running around, but every matinee you come off wanting to eat 20 pies because you鈥檙e so hungry.鈥
He doesn鈥檛 even mind getting injured in the line of duty.
鈥淚 played Francis for a month in the West End and snapped a ligament in my shoulder.
鈥淚 dive on to a trunk, and in the first show I did I heard my shoulder go ping. It was really painful and felt like my arm wasn鈥檛 attached any more, but I just carried on with the show.
鈥淚njuries happen to all the Francises, it鈥檚 the nature of how physical the role is. I also injured my knee because I spend half my time on my knees, begging.
鈥淜ind of like what it鈥檚 like with my wife, really,鈥 he jokes.
Francis gets two people out of the audience to help him in one scene and has to be careful who he picks 鈥 and how he ad libs with them.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e James Corden, you tend to get away with being cheeky. People don鈥檛 know my fat face so I can鈥檛 get away with it.鈥
Gavin is married to dancer and choreographer Emma Annetts. While she worked with megastar Celine Dion, they lived in Las Vegas for four years.
鈥淣ow I鈥檓 hoping to take Emma on tour with me. She took me to Vegas, I鈥檓 taking her to Birmingham, which seems fair.
鈥淚 think she鈥檚 particularly excited about Wolverhampton.鈥
* One Man, Two Guvnors plays Birmingham Hippodrome from May 26 - 31. For tickets, ring 0844 338 5000 or go to . It also plays Wolverhampton鈥檚 Grand Theatre from March 6-21 2015.
