Writer: Patrick Barlow (from John Buchan)
Director: Paul Robinson
Jeannie Swales contributes an informative three pages to the programme on the remarkable John Buchan, but in truth there are many stages between the novel’s appearance in 1915 and the zany antics at Scarborough in 2023. The clue is there in the 1935 film poster for Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movie: this is a version of the film rather than the novel.
As such it has gone through many different manifestations on the way. The original adaptation by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon launched a new company, North Country Theatre, in 1995, four plucky actors trying like mad to reproduce a train on the Forth Bridge or a show at the London Palladium. Patrick Barlow of the National Theatre of Brent saw it, adapted it and found himself sitting on an international best-seller. Since then theatres have all come up with their own take on the script, including Paul Robinson at Scarborough in 2018!
So this is Robinson’s second attempt at a play at three removes from John Buchan – and at the moment it seems pretty near perfect, that is, until some director of comparable ingenuity comes up with a few more twists.
The principle is to cast one actor as stiff-upper-lipped Richard Hannay, another as the three main female parts (a sort of Madeleine Carroll + 2) and two more, one of them female, as two Clowns who nobly play all the other parts and should be reported to the Society against Mocking the Scots for their accents, gross wigs and crazy Highland jigs.
Things begin with relative restraint: Hannay tells the tale of boredom in Portland Place, then it’s off to the theatre where he meets the enigmatic Annabella Schmidt. Soon Schmidt is dead and the stage machinery is malfunctioning, from unhelpful blinds to the Clowns in macs and trilbies dragging their own lamp-post around. A few clues and Hannay, by now a murder suspect, sets off to find the man in the big house (or hoose) at Alt-na-Shellach.
The gags fly fast and free, many founded on the premise that the same actor is playing two parts at the same time. References to other Hitchcock films make passing appearances, the unintelligibility of the Scots is a given, Hannay and Pamela tie themselves in knots around a farm gate unable to get the handcuffs on the right side of it, a car is assembled out of bits and pieces, with the steering wheel hurled on to complete the picture – you get the idea! Everything works hysterically well, with one tiny proviso: one or two of the repetitive gags go on a bit too long.
The four actors give totally on-the-button performances: Dave Hearn’s jaw is as square as his lip is stiff as Hannay, Olivia Onyehara is earnestness itself as the three women and Lucy Keirl and Niall Ransome seem to realise that this could be their only chance to play demented Scots people in wild wigs – and make the most of it.
The integration of effects into the actors’ happy nonsense is crucial and Jason Taylor’s lighting and Simon Slater’s sound work perfectly, Slater using swing classics to great effect together with his own compositions. And Helen Coyston’s costumes are a bizarre delight.
Runs until 29th July 2023.
The Reviews Hub Score
Pretty near perfect!
