He has thrown himself into one of the biggest challenges of his career playing the lead, and only, character in Jack Hibberd's Stretch of the Imagination.

In a gruelling performance, audiences are taken on a rollercoaster ride through the memories of Monk O'Neill, a man battling to come to terms with his physical decline. The role will crush the audience's image of Wood as a fatherly figure he established playing Sergeant Tom Croydon in Blue Heelers. Monk spends a lot of his time on sexual connotations and repeating words that would never have passed the lips of Sergeant Croydon.

"If this wasn't in a theatre people would think that Monk was a maniac," Wood chuckles. "But it is moving and touching and extremely funny.."

Wood hopes audiences will take something away from the experience. "It will make them think about themselves a bit and where they are in their life journey and relationship with themselves.

``In a sense it is everyone's journey because we're all condemned to that same journey _ he's obsessed with his body and that absolute humanity, you're

born, you have to go to the lavatory and you die.''

The role was something Wood had always wanted to tackle.

``This is a play that for an actor of my age it is always on the horizon.

``You are dealing with a masterpiece, a pretty complex piece of theatre _ it is an iconograph of Australian drama.

``It promises to be an absolutely awesome night at the theatre _ as long as I can remember the lines,.''

Stretch of the Imagination is on at at 8pm this Friday at the Cardinia Cultural Centre, Pakenham. Bookings: 1300887624.

It can also be seen at 8pm, April 18, at the Drum Theatre. Bookings: 97716666.

Show contains strong language and adult themes.