, the critically-acclaimed play based on the real-life experiences of political prisoners, is to be staged at the Daylesford Theatre next week.

As funny as it is dramatic, the play focuses on three men ? an American, an Englishman and an Irishman ? and the relationship they forge while confined in a Lebanese prison cell.

The play is directed by Carol Birch.

"It's very funny," she said. "Of course, it has elements of drama, but it's written in such a way that it's hilarious. It's simply one of those beautiful ones ? the moment you begin to feel sad, there's an incredible laugh line so you never wallow in misery.

"It's not so much about three men being locked in a cell as it is about their relationship together and their relationships with their families. What really gets to them is the boredom, so they do all sorts of hilarious things to alleviate that."

Presented by the Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society, was written by award-winning playwright Frank McGuinness based on the true story chronicled in the book, .

The book's author was hostage survivor Brian Keenan. A movie, also explored the experiences he and a fellow prisoner, John McCarthy, shared. On their release in Beirut, both said it was laughter which had helped them survive.

"Nothing had been heard from Brian Keenan and John McCarthy for over four years, until the release of an American hostage, Frank Reed, in 1990," Ms Birch explained. "Many had thought that Brian Keenan and John McCarthy were both dead; however, Mr. Reed confirmed that he had been imprisoned with them both only days before.

"Frank McGuinness based it on what happened to Brian Keenan but at the time, he hadn't spoken to Brian Keenan. Brian Keenan went and saw the play and was awe-struck at how well Frank McGuinness caught the emotions of what goes on when (people) are locked in a room with no outside influences.

"The underlying political motives are irrelevant in the play and Frank McGuinness concentrates solely on the human reactions to an inhuman situation and the relationships between the three prisoners. Edward the Irishman is a journalist and the motivator of the group with a razor-sharp wit. Adam the American is a doctor, good-looking and sensitive. Michael the Englishman, is a professor of English, very bookish and retiring but discovers a sense of humour during the course of the play. The play centres on what they do, how they live and how they survive."

Cast as the Irishman and the Englishman respectively are well-known actors Richard Fell and Kelvin Hastings-Smith. Mark Essay, a newcomer to the Bermuda stage, plays the American. According to Ms Birch, the mix was exactly what she had been hoping for when she was first handed the script for the production.

"The script was given to me by a friend and I've had it in mind for at least four years. I tried to stage it before, but was unsuccessful in getting the right people for casting, which is especially important when there's three major roles. I'm very fortunate, I have a dream team both on and offstage. And it is so topical at the moment. All we need now is an audience."

Never having seen the play, Ms Birch chose to direct it in a somewhat unusual manner. Instead of having the actors read their lines from a script onstage, she had them follow a method referred to as the Whelan Tape Technique. Created by Jeremy Whelan, it encourages actors to read their lines into a tape recorder, put the script down and act out the scene to the playback of the taped lines.

"It's a wonderful way to learn not just lines, but music and songs," she explained.

qis showing at the Daylesford Theatre, corner of Washington and Dundonald Streets, June 21 through 26 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 and available at the box office between 5.30 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. today, on performance nights between 5.30 p.m. and 8 p.m., and via the internet at www.bmds.bm. Phone bookings may be made during box office hours by calling 292-0848.