The Choir of Man is like a night at the pub, but with nine-part harmonies, according to veteran international producer Andrew Kay.
He's keen to emphasise the show, at Arts Centre Melbourne from Thursday, isn't a musical - no jazz hands, he promises.
Rather, there are renditions of classics by Adele, Guns N'Roses, and Paul Simon as well as original numbers, underpinned by the real-life stories of the performers onstage.
"It's not football culture, it's a musical culture, they share their stories and their feelings and their lives through music," Kay said.
Audience members are even invited for a pint at the onstage working bar, in what Kay describes as the opposite of a toxic male environment.
"It's about community, it's about a safe space, it's about going somewhere with a group of friends and being real," he said.
Kay has been touring theatre shows for 40 years and is currently producing Bluey's Big Play, playing at Brisbane's QPAC, and Argentinian drumming sensation Malevo at Arts Centre Melbourne later in January.
Having sold theatre tickets during the 1990s recession, he has noticed ticket sales are increasingly last-minute decisions for audiences strapped for cash.
Sales to Choir of Man are a case in point - they were going slowly, until a big jump just days before opening.
"We've had 20 years of extraordinary times, but those times may be behind us," Kay told AAP.
Ten nights out at the theatre each year can become half a dozen as households reduce their spending, he said, which means producers must make very careful decisions about what to stage.
Even quality shows that are worth seeing might not sell enough tickets to make money.
"The cost of presenting has gone through the roof, so all of a sudden you need to sell a lot more tickets to just break even," he said.
"In the end, you can't keep putting shows on that lose money, and you can lose a lot of money in this business very quickly."
Choir of Man first premiered in 2017 at the Edinburgh Fringe and has played in London's West End and the US.
While other production companies have private equity backing, Kay puts his own money behind his shows, and trusts that word of mouth will make Choir of Man's short Melbourne run a success.
Choir of Man is on at Arts Centre Melbourne's Playhouse until February 11.
