The inner life of a tribute singer is explored in this new play.

Only The Lonely is the story of Dave, a man who realises his dream to be a Roy Orbison impersonator after being hit by redundancy and divorce.

But, despite wide success and acclaim, he is still forced to face his unresolved inner demons.

It's the latest one-man self-penned show from Pip Utton, who exploded on to the UK theatre scene in the late Nineties with the extraordinary Adolf, in which he played Hitler, and Hancock's Last Half Hour, in which he portrayed tragic Sixties comedy icon, Tony Hancock.

His shows have a reputation for being emotional roller coasters, although he decided to give his audiences a break this time.

"I didn't want to be pigeonholed with the other works I've done, which are all serious and take the audience to the dry cleaners," he said.

"I want this one to be more relaxing for the audience and more relaxing to perform."

A relative newcomer to the UK stage, Utton was a jeweller up until 1996 when, at the age of 45, he launched his acting career.

He has since travelled the world and won several awards, including Edinburgh's Spirit Of The Fringe award in 1998 and a nomination for The Stage magazine award for best actor.

He chose to portray Roy Orbison because of his fascination with tribute singers and the whole idea that you don't necessarily need any talent to become a celebrity.

"I'm using a Roy Orbison tribute singer to show how somebody can succeed in the world of celebrity on the back of somebody else's talent," he said.

The characterisation of Orbison came about because of a similarity of vocal styles.

"You've got to look at how you can best portray your ideas and I can look and sound more like Roy Orbison than anyone else.

"I've got that high wobbly voice and I didn't want to do Demis Roussos."

This is the first show in which Pip actually wants his audiences to simply enjoy themselves, having provoked such extreme reactions during Adolf that protesters hurled stink bombs. He was even punched in the face by a female member of the audience.

"This piece isn't destined or designed to get those kinds of responses," he said. "I hope the audience goes away questioning the idea of celebrity, fame and popularity and how we create our celebrities."

Although it is not a tribute show, Pip will be singing a selection of Orbison classics so fans won't be disappointed.

Starts 8pm. Tickets £9/£7 conc. Call 01273 647100.

Preview by Adam Reeves, features@theargus.co.uk