The Great Escaper with Q&A (12A)

Dir. Oliver Parker | 2023 | 96 mins plus Q&A

In the summer of 2014 -- the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings -- octogenarian Bernie Jordan (Michael Caine) made global headlines. He'd staged a "great escape" from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy, commemorating their fallen comrades. 

It was a story that captured the imagination of the world -- Bernie seemed to embody the defiant, "can-do" spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing. But of course, it wasn’t the whole story. It was the story we all tell ourselves to make war and old age bearable. The bitter-sweet script explores the reality with wit and a very big heart. Bernie's adventure, spanning a mere 48 hours, also marked the culmination of his 60-year marriage to Irene (Glenda Jackson) -- the story celebrates their love without sentimentality and with an eye to the lessons we can all learn from the Greatest Generation.

The film is 96 minutes and will be followed by a Q&A with Script Writer for The Great Escaper William Ivory and questions will be lead by script writer of The Colour Room Claire Peate.

Friday 1st December, 7.30pm

Tickets: £8.50/£7/£6.50

A £1 Poly Fund payment is added to each ticket sold.