“A year ago I wouldn't have been able to do a theatre job”, Tom Urie explains.

Just months since he opened up about his 17 stone weight loss, the actor has thrown himself in at the deep end with a one-man show.

As part of the Oran Mor’s A Play, A Pie and A Pint, he will be taking to the stage solo in ‘Kind Stranger’.

Written by Urie’s best friend Matthew McVarish, the play centres around a hospital visitor who spendsing his time reading to coma patients.

After a man is found unconscious near railway lines, the kind stranger offers to keep him company, challenging his mind and nourishing his soul while his motionless body tackles the question: ‘to wake or not to wake.’

“The man always talks about his own life and discovering the meaning of life”, Tom explains.

“He refers to a lot of books, and literature that he likes that have helped him. It’s a journey of discovery.”

Not only is ‘Kind Stranger’ Tom’s first performance since his dramatic weight loss, but the first since overcoming depression and anxiety.

Just a year ago, he would not have been fit enough mentally or physically to complete a whole theatre stint but now, the actor says you could strap him to a trapeze and he’d be fine.

“Well maybe not a trapeze but I'm raring to go, I've got a whole new lease of life.”

The play came off the back of McVarish’s 10,000 mile trek across Europe to raise awareness of child abuse.

“He came back from his trip exhausted and round about the same time I was battling weight issues and depression.

“The two of us have just resurfaced and we were desperate to do something.

“Matthew had this idea and came to me with it - it wasn't a guarantee that I was going to get part.

“This is the first time we’ve worked on something that he has written and I’ve performed. Usually we write together so it's an interesting dynamic.

“I’ve had my battles and I’ve understood over the past year why people get into desperate situations and could possibly have suicidal thoughts.

“The play deals with the theme of why people would want to take their own life or end up in that position where they would see there wasn't a meaning for their life. It sounds quite bleak but it is also quite funny.”

Taking to the stage for the admittedly terrifying one-man performance has allowed Tom to flex all of his acting muscles.

“It’s scary but A Play, A Pie, A Pint always is, I've really thrown myself in at the deep end.

“Normally you’ve got a couple of pals with you who are going through it but this time it's one man so I'm just trying to comfort myself.

“The play is different to anything I’ve done because it's the darkest piece that I’ve ever performed but there’s a lot of light and humour in it as well.

“With River City you’re filming a few minute scenes at a time, this is an hour where I have to go through a whole gauntlet of emotions which is completely different to TV acting.”

With both Tom and Matthew, who have spoken out about their personal issues, were keen to create a piece of work which shines a light on topics that in some respects are still taboo.

Society’s attitudes towards suicide and mental health are something that Urie will be in the forefront of people’s minds after the show.

“I hope people will have a think about attitudes towards people who get themselves to such a dark place where they think the only thing to do is to commit suicide - which we deal with it in a very poetic, practical and humorous way.

“Society’s opinions are changing towards anxiety and depression now and people are talking about it a lot more.

“People are finding a lot more people to talk to now and that helps them recover.

“I think it's just part of the growing movement of talking about suicide and depression and if we can contribute to that, it would be fantastic.”