****
Adapted by Patrick Barlow
From an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimond
Directed by Maria Aitken
Tour directed by Nicola Samer
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| Tom Byrne |
Returning to the West End after nine years, Maria Aitken’s affectionate tribute to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 movie remains a fabulous fusion of stagecraft, wit and British interwar history.
The 39 Steps famously sees Englishman Richard Hannay caught up in a web of intrigue and espionage as he unwittingly stumbles across a fiendish spy-ring and finds himself the prime suspect for a murder he did not commit. The ripping yarn has him fleeing London aboard the night train to Scotland, pursued by both the police and the villains, with scenes of high drama and derring-do on the train, the Forth Bridge and amidst the remote villages and misty moors of the Highlands.
What makes Aitken’s piece (her work recreated in this production by Nicola Samer) quite so delightful is how she achieves such spectacular thrills and spills with just a cast of four. Using the simplest of suggestive props and lighting and the ingenious conceit of laughing fondly at the stiff upper lip of a time gone by, a re-creation emerges of so many of the wonderful cameos and caricatures that Hitchcock so painstakingly wove into his film.
Tom Byrne is Hannay, on-stage throughout and the only member of the quartet to play just one character from start to finish. Playing the three women with whom Hannay interacts is Safeena Ladha, while picking up the multitude of other roles from Scotland Yard detectives, to shady criminals, to enchanting Highland crofters (to name but a few of their roles) are Eugene McCoy and Maddie Rice in a breathtaking whirl of interchanging characters. The thrills and spills are cleverly played out along with a generous measure of nods to other Hitchcock classics written into the script.
A familiarity with the 1935 film, while not essential, is useful if only to recognise just how ingenious and true to the original, Aitken’s staging proves to be.
The 39 Steps is gorgeous theatre, brilliantly performed. To quote the story’s Mr Memory: “Am I right?” Definitely!
Runs until 28th September
Photo credit: Mark Senior
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