The 39 Steps – Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield

Writer: John Buchan

Adapter: Patrick Barlow

Director: Maria Aitken and Nicola Samer

Alfred Hitchcock, noted curmudgeon, and celebrated film director, might struggle to recognise his 1935 classic film in its comic recreation, crafted by PatrickBarlow. John Buchan, who penned the original novel over a century ago, might stand less chance of identifying the remnants in this touring production of The 39 Steps, which competes for an audience with the snooker at the nearbyCrucible. But this is the prism on the past which attracts today’s audience, and has done so for almost the past 30 years: a mix of nostalgia and cynicism, played primarily for laughs, and with a knowing wink.

The play follows the plot and characters of the film. A world-weary Richard Hannay goes to a music hall in London and has a chance encounter with a mysterious woman, who is being followed by sinister spies. She is murdered in Hannay’s flat and he is the prime suspect. Escaping by train to Scotland he tries to track down the head of the spy ring while hunted by incompetent police, and handcuffed to anattractive blonde. The combination of old-school thriller and romantic comedy leads to a happy resolution at the London Palladium.

Elements from other Hitchcock films are added for comic effect, including the brilliant use of a shower curtain as a Highland waterfall to echo the famous scene from “Psycho”. Cue discordant strings from the soundtrack. Elsewhere, music and sound effects sustain the period feel of the piece, and lighting adds an extra dimension to several sequences, particularly those involving trains or cars. Fog, too, plays a key part, but often gets its timing wrong.

Tom Byrne, as Hannay, has the luxury of maintaining the same role throughout the play while everyone else plays multiple roles. The word “doubling” scarcely does justice to the “Clowns”, Eugene McCoy and Maddie Rice, who cover over 100characters between them, and whose choreography of the physical comedy was masterful. However, there were some scenes, such as backstage at the Palladium, where the multi-rolling stretched the joke a bit further than was merited. Safeena Ladha gets the more glamorous roles as the vampish Annabella, the coy crofter’s wife Margaret, and the reluctant co-conspirator and main love interest, Pamela. She made an excellent foil to Byrne’s Hannay in the scenes where they eludecapture and deal with rustic hazards while chained together, sparring continuously. Their bedroom scene at the McGarrigle Hotel was a delicious balance of desire and animosity, with sandwiches.

While the play is essentially a series of discrete comic scenes, it maintains asense of movement, as befits an action-adventure. Chase scenes along a moving train and the Forth Bridge, an aerial pursuit across the Scottish moors, and a hair-raising car ride all contribute to the headlong trajectory. However, there were also scenes where the pace dropped and the momentum drained from the piece, such as the discussion between Hannay and Professor Jordan. Designed to highlight Hannay’s lack of emotional attachment, it served rather to sap the strength from the narrative drive. Interestingly, the playwright Patrick Barlow advises actors in his programme notes that: “The faster and lighter they play it, the more the story will work.”

This is a play that has garnered plaudits since it first graced the stage in 1996. Patrick Barlow’s adaptation has been running in London and the provinces almost continuously since 2005, and many amateur groups have staged their ownversions. So many elements in this play continue to work so well, but others seem tired or dated, or upstaged by other similar concepts. The cast and creatives do their utmost to make the play fizz, but there are flat spots which their hard work cannot overcome.

Runs until 4th May 2024, before continuing on tour