“Gentlemen, if we pull this off it will be the greatest escape mankind has ever made”. Low stakes, then, in this enjoyable play depicting of the escape from Stalag Luft III Prisoner of War camp.The play’s title refers to the tunnels the airmen dig to escape Stalag Luft. It’s a story which has been told many times, most famously in the 1963 film The Great Escape. Tom, Dick & Harry gives its audience the familiar motifs from the movie- crawling around on boards, being sent to solitary confinement in “the cooler”, an homage to Steve McQueen’s iconic motorbike scene- while also being creative enough in its choices to feel fresh.The play takes a little while to find its groove, mostly due to the multi-rolling of many of the cast, which isn’t particularly well explained or displayed at first. Once those niggles are out of the way, there is fun to be had in Tom, Dick & Harry. Writers Theresa Heskins (who also directs), Michael Hugo and Andrew Pollard (who play Bob and Wings respectively) include multiple inventive set-pieces, such the scene when its protagonists plot their escape while leaping over a vault in the camp gym. There’s also an amusing demonstration of the disguises the escapees use, explained through the medium of a fashion show. The climactic escape itself is exciting and tense.
Tom, Dick & Harry struggles during the scenes between these big moments. The story doesn’t lend itself to character development, and the characters are too cartoonish to be of much interest when they’re just talking to each other. In these moments the script does little more than hammer home the banter and camaraderie between the protagonists. Moreover, a story about confinement and claustrophobia is ill-suited to a vast venue like the Alexandra Palace Theatre. Heskins’ in-the-round staging in unnecessary, and in such a spacious theatre it becomes detrimental to the trapped feeling the audience should experience. Tom, Dick & Harry also involves it audience in the action (don’t worry though- nobody is dragged up onstage) which is fun, though feels a little out-of-place.
The use of music and dance throughout the show is mostly delightful and only occasionally feels like filler. The ensemble cast give good performances, and lighting director Daniella Beatie uses spotlights and blackouts to dramatic effect. It all amounts to a satisfying retelling of a well-known adventure story.
