Great explorers' names, such as Captain Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton, will never be forgotten in British history. But of course, they weren't the only ones on the daring expeditions, risking life and limb for eternal glory.

Often, the real heroes were the grafters who supported them in their quests.

And one such real-life hero was Tom Crean, who served with Scott on the 1901 Discovery expedition exploring the Ross Sea, and on his fateful expedition to the South Pole.

He was also an officer on Shackleton's near-fatal Endurance expedition in 1916, where the ship was broken up by pack ice, leaving 28 men adrift in three small boats.

The idea for the one-man show celebrating Tom's life came to Aidan Dooley when he was asked to put on a 20-minute piece to complement an exhibition on the Antartic explorers by the Maritime Museum.

"Tom was an integral part of Scott and Shackleton's expeditions," says Aidan, who, as well as writing and directing the piece, plays the petty officer on stage.

"When he retired from the Navy and returned to his native Ireland, the country was in the middle of political upheaval and wouldn't take kindly to a man who helped the famous British explorers. In a sense, he wanted to be forgotten."

In Scott's ill-fated expedition to reach the South Pole, he was the last man in the support party to turn back, as the remaining five explorers struggled on in a fatal attempt to reach their goal.

"When one of the officers got scurvy, Crean walked 40 miles alone to get help," says Aidan. "It took him 20 hours but he saved the other two men in his party."

It was a similar story with the ill-fated Shackleton expedition, as he was one of the men in the small boat who managed to get help for the 22 remaining shipwrecked crew. "History has been relatively unkind to Crean," says Aidan. "I'm hoping this show will ignite interest in the UK, especially among people who have an interest in this period."

  • Starts: 6.30pm Tickets: £12.50, Post-show talk, Thu, May 10, free to ticket holders