PICTURE the scene: you've just finished a 12-hour shift in a blast furnace, where you have spent your time dressed in thick overalls, boots, helmet and protective glasses turning iron ore into molten iron in the hottest conditions imaginable.

Do you fancy a nice cold pint in the pub, an evening in front of the telly or a gruelling rehearsal for an opera being staged on a railway platform?

Incredibly, a group of workers from Teesside's Corus steelworks opted for the latter and will face an audience for the first time tonight.

Their story could be described as a highbrow version of the film The Full Monty, with arias and librettos replacing the full-frontal striptease.

Like the steelworker characters in the film, all have been mocked by their colleagues, but none regret signing up for Blaze!, which is about Darlington's rail heritage and is at the town's Railway Museum until Saturday.

Stephen Mitchell, from Middlesbrough, said: "I have been getting some stick over it and they all think it's a joke at work. On the first rehearsal, I was sat there with a smirk myself, but then I really got into it. It's a laugh and it's something completely different to anything I've done before."

All but two of the men involved have never sung before, except in the shower or at the football.

Suzannah Clarke, the Middlesbrough-born soprano who persuaded them to take part and is also starring in the show, is full of admiration.

She said: "They are all a little bit worried about getting on stage and I take my hat off to them. When you are frightened about doing something, it's a huge achievement to actually do it."

The biggest surprise to her and the men has been the quality of their voices.

Watching them rehearse with professionals from the Northern Stage theatre company, it is hard to believe this is their first time on stage.

Ms Clarke said: "They are fantastic. I really thought I was going to turn up and it was going to be dreadful, but they all sang in tune, with perfect pitch."

Last night, word-perfect for their parts as navvies, all the men had to overcome was stage fright.

Jonathan Still, 43, said: "It's nerve-wracking, but if you don't try it, you don't know what you can do."

Tickets are from £2.50 to £7, available on (01325) 486555.

Published: 27/07/2004