Writer: John Buchan
Adaptor: Patrick Barlow
Director: Maria Aitken
The 39 Steps was first performed as a play in 1995 and is based on the 1915 Book by John Buchan and the 1935 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The spy thriller moves at great pace from Portland Place in London to the Highlands of Scotland. In the adventure there are Trains, Planes and Automobiles. With a small cast of four (or is it five?) playing 139 roles in 100 minutes it has plenty of romance, comedy, adventure and slapstick comedy.
The Grand Opera House in York is a lovely old theatre built in 1902 and provides a great venue for the play.
The scenery is very sparse onstage as the play opens with the handsome Richard Hannay (Tom Byrne) reflecting on his life having returned from working overseas. He decides to go to the London Palladium to watch a show, the star of the show is Mr Memory who has memorised lots of information and onstage when asked a question can recall the answer live. Shots ring out and the adventure begins. Hannay rescues a woman who turns out to be a spy trying to uncloak the secret of “The 39 Steps”. She is followed to Hannay’s house by some mysterious men and during the night they kill the woman in Hannay’s Flat.
Hannay then flees as a man wanted for murder and makes it his task to stop national secrets being taken out of the country, as well as clear his name.
The plot of the play is very simple: murder, spies, secrets, love, trains and Scotland are all intertwined in this fast-paced show. There are some wonderful, simple and inventive visual gags through the whole show. Eugene McCoy and Maddie Rice play numerous characters and exhibit their acting talents and slapstick humour throughout the play. Safeena Ladha plays three female roles and her characters work well with the rest of the cast.
There is some great use of simple props throughout the play, especially the shadow puppets scene. The use of shadow images to portray key moments is so simple and so fun. The famous train scene and escape onto the Forth Railway Bridge is a lovely set piece. It is very effective and uses the cast’s acting skills rather than special effects and scenery to portray the chase. In this case less scenery means more chance for the cast to show their skills.
The play is fast paced and great fun. As your reviewer left the theatre, another theatre goer was overheard saying “That’s probably the best live show I’ve ever seen, so silly and so fun.”
Runs until 27th July 2024
The Review Hub Score
Silly and Fun
