Craig Kelly plays Chicken at Trafalgar 2 from 25 June

Set in the Bronx, Chicken is billed as a “gritty play full of street-smart humour about two childhood pals, Wendall and Floyd, an unhappy wife – and a sickly rooster they are grooming for an illegal cockfight.”

The production will star Craig Kelly (Coronation Street, Queer As Folk) and George Georgiou (Mamma Mia! The Movie).

Wendall (Kelly) and his pregnant wife’s stifling and cramped apartment is full of the mess of desperate people. Floyd (Georgiou) is kipping down on the sofa, and a visit from his father, his brash ex wife and the local hustler, clearly shows what an unstable upbringing and a burning desire for money can do – but will the cock be their meal ticket?

Chicken premiered off Broadway in 2008 starring The Sopranos actor Michael Imperioli at his theatre, Studio Dante.

Imperioli said of the play: “I loved the play from the first time I read it. I love the way Batistick handles New York: by setting it in this melting-pot environment it reflects any major modern city. The play is of our time, as it is filled with multi-cultural characters put in this pressure-cooker environment.”

Currently in Trafalgar 2, Step 9 (of 12) starring Blake Harrison continues to 26 May, followed by Mercury Fur from 30 May to 23 June.