‘The 39 Steps’ Review (LONDON, UK)

WHAT: Play (Comedy Thriller)

WHERE: Criterion Theatre (map)

WEBSITE: http://www.love39steps.com/

HOW MANY TOBIES WOULD GIVE LOUD DOG WHISTLES (out of 5):

A beacon of light at the West End.

MY STORY: The problem with watching the same play twice is that the second time usually disappoints. Especially if the first production you saw of it was pretty much the best thing you’ve ever seen performed on stage – as was the case with ‘The 39 Steps’. That was the first play I ever reviewed actually. I gave it four stars because at that point I didn’t feel confident enough giving it five, and I spent the next two years kicking myself because nothing I saw since was anywhere near as good as that. (Maybe with the exception of ‘Oklahoma!’ starring West End star Marti Webb, but that’s another story for another time.) So I sank into my seat at the Criterion Theatre with great expectations. And I was not in the least bit disappointed.

‘The 39 Steps’, for those of you who have been existing without having heard of it (shame on you), is a hilarious stage adaptation of the Hitchcock film adaptation of the book, which was originally written by John Buchan in 1915. (I hate italics, but it’s either that or caps because I need to show you visually exactly how funny it is, and I choose this. Or, I suppose, I should just put 😀 Would life be simpler if we all just communicated in smileys…? I digress) The book and film versions are both Very Serious Thrillers, but Patrick Barlow ingeniously turned it into a farce, and the result is fantastic. In fact, I’m convinced the world will be a better place if all plays are like this one, because it combines the best parts of theatre seamlessly, and I defy anyone to walk out of the performance not feeling happy as a duck.

In a nutshell, the plot revolves around Richard Hannay, who is on the run from the police after a ravishing spy he met at a London theatre (oooh – irony!), Annabella Schmidt, was murdered in his flat. In order to clear his name, Hannay needs to discover the reason for which Schmidt was assassinated. Her dying words revealed that a top state secret was about to be smuggled out of the country by foreign spies and if they succeed, ‘then Lord save us all’. And so begins Hannay’s adventures across the Scottish Moors, during which he meets a couple more beautiful women, including Pamela – to whom he reluctantly ends up being handcuffed with – a few not-so-attractive men, and a herd of sheep.

Revelations before dinnertime. Photo by Tristam Kenton

There are, in total, 139 roles in ‘The 39 Steps’ – and yet it only takes a(n absolutely brilliant) cast of four to have them covered. Andrew Alexander takes on the lead character, Catherine Bailey appears as all three of Hannay’s love interests, and Stephen Critchlow and Ian Hughes fill the remaining 135 characters between them, from Scottish inn-keepers to detectives to thorn bushes. Yes, thorn bushes. It is mesmerising to watch how quickly and precisely they can switch roles with swift changes of hats or positions or accents. They have, in short, found a solution to the question of how to be everyone everywhere at the same time. This is helped by a very versatile set: the wall of the inn, for example, magically transforms into a wardrobe, and the wardrobe somehow opens into a bed. Kudos to set designer Peter McKintosh. Genius.

The thing that amused me most, though, is how self-aware ‘The 39 Steps’ is. Certain lines are said before things happen, and thus a sofa flies on stage, or a telephone rings, only after a character demands them to. They use this joke a lot throughout the performance. It’s like their trump card. Does that sound forced? Maybe, but it works. It never gets old just because they know they’re being cheeky bums mocking conventional theatre techniques, but they also know that they can pull it off brilliantly. The play is made to seem spontaneous through very careful planning and fantastic execution. It is a case of art having successfully imitate life, and really, what more can you ask for in live theatre?

So if you, like Hannay, need ‘something mindless and trivial; something utterly pointless’ but guaranteed to make your entire day worth living for, then definitely, definitely (if I may commit the same crime twice), make time for ‘The 39 Steps’.

*              **              ***              **              *

INSIGHT

West End star Catherine Bailey, who plays all three female roles in The 39 Steps. Photo by James Looker.

Want to know what it’s like behind the scenes of a West End show? Click here for an exclusive interview with Catherine!