Behind-the-scenes of Tom, Dick & Harry with Assistant Director Filiz Ozcan

25th May 2022

In the first of a series of blogs about Tom, Dick & Harry, Assistant Director Filiz Ozcan discusses her research into prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III and how this has helped with rehearsals for the show so far…

As the Assistant Director for Tom, Dick & Harry I’ve had to immerse myself into the world of Stalag Luft III, a Luftwaffe-run prisoner of war (POW) camp during World War II, which held captured Western Allied air force personnel. I was fortunate to use the top secret camp history of Stalag Luft III (Sagan) Air Force Personnel from the National Archives.

During my preparation for rehearsals, I worked on the script to identify the sources for each historical event. In rehearsals, I have created slide shows for the cast specifically linked to the scenes they have been working on each day.  Sometimes the Director, Theresa Heskins, would request specific references like images of the theatre in the camp or the tunnel, which then was used as a visual reference for the actors. The actors also had the opportunity to ask questions and my role was to find the answers using the research I collated. Sometimes the research shared offered a new insight to the play, which has informed some of the rewrites within the play.

I also had the opportunity to bring representatives from the RAF to support our understanding of saluting, and the roles and responsibilities of an RAF Pilot. We even had the opportunity to do a question and answer session with geologists and historians on excavating the site of Stalag Luft III.

It has been such an insightful process for me to discover the large scale, meticulous process to bring the escape to fruition. It was so inspiring to discover the range of skills that was required across different nations within the camp and their ingenuity to transform everyday objects into an escape tool.

Tom, Dick & Harry will open at the New Vic from Friday 10 June to Saturday 9 July 2022. Tickets are on sale now and available online here or by calling the Box Office on 01782 717962.