A play about the man who designed London’s Tube map will open in the West End on the 50th anniversary of his death.
The Truth About Harry Beck will open at the London Transport Museum’s own Cubic Theatre whose 110 seats come complete with London Underground style moquette covers.
Beck’s distinctive design, which was first issued in 1933 and is still in use, famously uses different colours for each route and utilises straight lines and 45 degree angles to simplify the vast network of train tracks running beneath the capital.
It was inspired by circuit diagrams he drew in his work as an electrical draughtsman and emphasises simplicity rather than showing distance and geographical accuracy like traditional maps.
The design was rejected by London Transport at first but Beck submitted an updated version and it became a huge popular hit after it was first issued as a pocket edition.
The play, which mixes the real-life stories of people including Beck and his wife Nora with fictional characters, tells the story behind his design.
Writer and director Andy Burden said: “About 16 years ago, I had the idea to put the story of the iconic Tube diagram on stage. I met with Ken Garland, a designer whose book ‘Mr Beck's Underground Map’ helped bring Harry Beck's story to public attention.
“He leant me copies of Beck's letters and gave me a small insight into the man. He was a man dedicated to finding the perfect schematic representation of the Underground network. And over a period of nearly 30 years, he worked tirelessly to improve the map, reflecting new stations, new lines and new suggestions from his bosses.
“Looking through Ken's book, I got obsessed with the map and how he drew it, at one point being fixated on each minute change to its layout. Over 14 years I kept rewriting the play trying to make it work at its best - life it seems was imitating art.”
Beck’s map was voted the country’s second favourite design of the 20th century by BBC TV viewers in 2006 – beaten only by Concorde – and three years later Royal Mail included it in a set of postage stamps celebrating British design classics.
He is also remembered with an English Heritage Blue Plaque on the house in Leyton where he was born.
Museum director Elizabeth McKay said: “The opportunity to introduce this new play about the man behind the famous Tube map was a no-brainer for us. London Transport Museum is a cultural cornerstone in Covent Garden in the heart of theatreland and this play lets you experience one of London’s little-known stories in a brand-new live format.
“We are bringing the capital’s rich history and characters alive for you.”
The Truth About Harry Beck runs from September 14 to November 10 at the Cubic Theatre.
