Back in London for the first time since 2015, Patrick Barlow’s hit comedy The 39 Steps has recently taken up residence at the Trafalgar Theatre where it continues to delight with its small cost, low budget tale of espionage.
This adaptation of John Buchan’s spy novel along with Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film adaptation tells the tale of Richard Hannay (played by Tom Byrne), a civilian left bored at home who finds himself drawn into the world of spies after meeting a beautiful stranger at the theatre one night. Things spiral at a rapid speed, and when Hannay is wrongfully accused of murder, he must venture through Scotland to both evade the police and a gang of Germans who are hot on his tail.
The previous production of this show ran for nine years, with the cast having worn through over 3000 pair of stockings, and with its simple staging, super speedy costume changes, shed load of multirole performances and clever story, it’s really no surprise that it proved so popular. Whilst I would assume that those who have seen the famous film adaptation would grasp at more references to it than I did, you don’t have to be an expert in the spy genre to both understand and enjoy this adventurous story with its wanted men, secret agents, forbidden loves, mysterious messages and even a chase aboard a train.
Byrne’s Richard Hannay is every part your stereotypical stiff upper lipped upper class gentleman, who somehow manages to keep that neat and calm (and very British) show must go on attitude regardless of what is happening to him. An easily likeable yet unlikely hero, the story encourages the audience to be on his side from the start and you will him on to succeed. Safeena Ladha plays Pamela, Annabella and Margaret, all three of the potential love interests for Hannay that he encounters throughout his adventure, making each as unique as the last. Annabella is the women of mystery, the impossible to resist Femme Fatale that you would expect to find in a spy thriller. Margaret is the women trapped in a grey and boring life that dreams of much more whilst Pamela could easily be described as the brain of the operation, caught up in the whirlwind of Hannay’s troubles.
With the cast consisting of only 4 performers and the story requiring over 150 characters, for me, the X factor of The 39 Steps lies in the use of the two ‘clowns’, aka, the two performers who play the vast majority of the roles. Eugene McCoy and Maddie Rice skip and jump between 10’s of characters each, from shifty spies with their trusty lamp post, police officers, strange hotel owners from the Scottish highlands, a pair of troublesome Germans, and even a music hall performer and his devoted announcer. Sometimes having to shift from character to another in the same scene, McCoy and Rice make a very difficult job look remarkably easy, fizzing with a seemingly never-ending energy and earning many of the delighted laughs throughout the night.
It would be easy to look at this production with its plain coloured minimal set and its strange collection of props and describe it as dated or behind the times, but in my opinion, it wouldn’t have that same sense of theatrical magic if it were modernised, if the use of shadow puppets were replaced with digital projections or if a large scale electronic set piece of a train replaced a few suitcase boxes for example. This is a production that both thrives on and celebrates the power of imagination and in an age of modern productions that depend heavily on the digital, there is something wonderful about that.
The action of The 39 Steps moves at a steady pace, in a good mix of rapid chase scenes and slower scenes that really tell the story. There are a couple of scenes perhaps that don’t add much to the narrative, and I feel it worth noting a couple that caused a little confusion in the audience in the way in which they were staged. House lights were, at times, turned on to create a certain effect and there was one moment in which an audience member did go to leave their seat mistaking this to the indication of the interval.
With the show having had such a long and successful previous run, you can see where it may have inspired other shows. The slapstick silliness that earns the majority of the laughs could have easily inspired Mischief and their wildly successful ‘Goes Wrong’ productions whilst the multi-role performers with their many many hats could have had an influence in the creation of ‘Operation Mincemeat’ and the simple set with many props reminds me of the style used in Peepolykus’ hilarious version of ‘The Hound of The Baskervilles’.
In conclusion, The 39 steps continues to thrill with its very entertaining and highly humorous take on a spy thriller. Its small cast, small budget approach provides a unique experience in comparison to many other shows currently running in the West End.
The 39 Steps runs at the Trafalgar Theatre until September 28th.
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