Review: THE TRUTH ABOUT HARRY BECK, Cubic Theatre - London Transport Museum

Photo credit: Mark Douet

There couldn’t be a more appropriate venue for a play about Harry Beck than the London Transport Museum, and the tale of the unfairly forgotten designer of the Tube diagram made a fascinating opening production for the Cubic Theatre, in the basement of the museum. Complete with seats covered in iconic Underground moquette, this comfortable new venue was full for the opening of Andy Burden’s play The Truth About Harry Beck, presented by the Natural Theatre Company.

Burden also directed the two-hander, in which Ashley Christmas plays Nora Beck (and a lot of other characters) and Simon Snashall plays the talented though single-minded Beck, both managing to create believable and fully rounded characterisations. Burden’s direction is deft and economical, making good use of occasional asides to the audience but never to excess. The central scene in which Beck and Nora create the Underground map – sorry Harry, diagram – with ribbons is masterly. It is quite an achievement to bring humour and lightness to what is essentially a sad story.

The piece, lasting just over an hour, focuses on the three rejections that Harry suffered during his career. Starting out as a draughtsman in the signals department, Harry (actually Henry, but renamed without his consent by his boss) enjoyed creating diagrams of complex signalling wires. This was the 1930s however, and during the Depression, Harry is rejected for the first time as he is made redundant.

As his relationship with fellow choir-member Nora grows, she encourages him start working as a freelancer for London Transport, involving visits to the iconic building at 55 Broadway near St James’ Park. Harry likes order and systems in his life and the chaotic Underground map of the time offends his belief in the need for such simplicity and logic. Remembering his work on circuit diagrams, he creates the first version of the current Underground map and attempts to get LT bosses to adopt it – but they find it too revolutionary.

Harry doesn’t give up after this second rejection and some years later, again encouraged by Nora, he tries again; and this time, the bosses agree to try out the map. It’s a great success and they decide to adopt it – after getting Harry to sign over his copyright for a derisory sum, with his understanding that he will do future development work on the map and will always receive credit for it.

Sadly, this doesn’t happen and the diagram is changed by others and his name is removed: he is rejected again. Only in 2006, long after his death, was Harry Beck fully acknowledged and his name can now be found on the Tube maps again. The play opened on a fitting date too, fifty years after Harry Beck died.

The inevitably downbeat ending to the story was perhaps less effective than the bulk of the earlier material, the set of plain screens with faint outlines of possible map seemed at odds with the realistic playing styles, and the suggestion that the map took the place of a child for Harry seemed a little too pat. However, these are minor reservations about what is a confident and assured production of a play about an almost forgotten figure, brought to life by two actors who give believable and thoughtful performances. Simon Snashall nails this tricky character with all of his exasperations and blinkered drive, while Ashley Christmas is heart-rending as Nora and vastly entertaining as several of the obstructive men in Harry’s professional life. A very successful launch for this welcome new theatre in Covent Garden.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Chris Abbott

The Truth About Harry Beck plays at the Cubic Theatre, London Transport Museum until 10 November, with further info here.