Play: Tom, Dick & Harry

This morning, my final interview for that contract I'm up for. At 9am. Mostly, I have to say, I'm utterly sick of interviews. What a year of them. As for this morning's, it went OK - apart from one of them wanting to delve into how much physics I knew. For Chrissake, the last time I did anything physics-related was at least 14 years ago! No, if you want me to know about physics, I can stop you there - if I need to revise it, I can, but the number of equations I can remember is minimal. It's not really like riding a bike. Anyway, we'll see.

In the evening, I had already booked for Tom, Dick & Harry at Alexandra Palace. This is the story of the POW camp escape, during WWII, which was fictionalised in The Great Escape. ("Tom", "Dick", and "Harry" were the names of the escape tunnels.) I got my ticket from London Theatre Direct. And then, wouldn't you know it, Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) decided to go the same night! So I went with them. Sadly, I missed out on the deal they snagged from TodayTix, which is even cheaper..

O' Neill's first for a bite to eat - they're starting to get to know me there now, of course! Had one staff member just start chatting to me as he passed.. I took buses to Ally Pally, I had the time - but the event's organiser had warned us that Alexandra Palace Way was closed for roadworks, so the W3 bus wasn't going that way. (Wouldn't you know it, it's all this week!) Ah well, I said I'd go as far as it took me - trekked the rest of the way, which at least gave me a bit of exercise! Memories of climbing up Montjuïc to the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona for U2 concerts - well, it wasn't as bad as that..!

After that, I needed a drink - of lemonade, for once! Joined the others, when I spotted them behind a screen. Unfortunately, I was sitting in a different section of the theatre to them.

The seats in the front row, where I was, were made to look like they were fashioned from American Red Cross crates. And despite the upholstery, they were kind of hard - happily, we were each supplied with two cushions, and well advised to use one at our backs, and one to sit on. Now, I was pretty much right beside the stage - which proved interesting, as I kept hearing curious noises. Turns out that one of the tunnels ran right beside me.. no wonder I could hear digging in the first half!

This production truly has an inventive stage design. They make the best use of what little they have - furniture is propelled in and out to suggest different settings, they have trapdoors for the odd depiction of tunnels: and there's a wonderful running gag about the non-existent doors that the camp commandant keeps making his subordinate mime knocking on, opening, and closing. All to the appropriate sound effects, of course. Also spot-on is the "translation button" that they use to switch between English and German - which, of course, explains why the German officers are speaking in English! Duh..

Watch out if you're in the front row - you might be called upon to Do your Duty! Although they tended to pick on men, over the other side they were equal-opportunity employers, picking one woman. In fact, the guy sitting beside me was chosen as a German-language expert! (There was also a plan to get the prisoners out once they'd escaped, and those who could speak German were to sneak out as first-class train passengers, able to blend in most easily.) At the interval, we were all given raffle tickets - don't worry, as she said, you don't have to come on stage. In fact, they determine who gets to go in the first wave of escapees..

The story itself is absolutely ingenious, with the "escape committee" covering all aspects - three tunnels, because while they'd surely find one, and might find two, finding all three was unlikely. Where to put them. How to dig them. How to shore them up. How to get air down there. Who was to do each job. How to get the men through the tunnels when it was done. And a whole department to fashion realistic-looking disguises out of whatever they could find, as well as false identities. Truly fascinating!

As well as being a fascinating true story, this is great fun! The actors give it gusto, and you do feel very close to the action - being in the round helps, of course. The actual escape is truly thrilling - and the Gestapo, with black coverings on their faces and, as one character remarks, the black leather overcoats, are as chilling as anything I've seen. Again, this production designer is a genius. Runs until Sunday - and if you have even a passing interest in the story, I have to recommend it! It's hard to imagine a better production.

On the way back, one of the group who had a car was kind enough to drop a few of us down the hill, which made my journey that much quicker. Half the time it took me on the outbound trip, roughly..

Tomorrow - well, with a dearth of alternatives, I'm thinking of Soho Comedy Factory Shows and Socials again.

On Thursday, I'm back with UITCS - crikey, when's the last time that happened, twice with them in one week! This time, it's for Yeast Nation in Southwark Playhouse. Bless, they always put on something interesting.. Anyway, with my old payg subscription used up, I've taken out another - £60 gets you five tickets, over an unlimited period. Excellent value! and I have such good memories of evenings spent in the bar here. Unlikely to happen this week.

On Friday, I got a cheap ticket with TAC to the Cabaret All-Stars!

Saturday is going to be busy - I'm back with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners for a walk called Glorious Greenwich. So popular, he's reached capacity and there are 12 on the waitlist! He's finally found somewhere that can accommodate 20 of us, and is trying to get people to confirm whether they're going to lunch - since 34 have booked for the walk!

That evening, I was supposed to be meeting two ex-coworkers for dinner and drinks. But it turns out one got her wires crossed, and is now doing something else. Unfortunately, the other can only manage central London - Greenwich is too awkward for him. We're going back to Imad's Syrian Kitchen.. perfect location, great restaurant!

And on Sunday, I'm off to Rye. London and Sussex Walking Tours - whom I joined during lockdown - are running a daytrip! called Rye - Pirates, Ports and Jazz (they also have a jazz festival that weekend): and I've never been. It's a bit of a palaver to get to, involving two trains - but well, it's about time I travelled a bit, and it's not too early a start. And the tour itself ends early in the day, so I have plenty of time to eat and explore before my train(s) back.