The 39 Steps
26 August 2024
Trafalgar Theatre
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
The 39 Steps last ran in London at the Criterion ten years ago. Having very much enjoyed the production before I started reviewing my theatre adventures, I had to have a look at this production to see how it holds up.
London, August 1935, the story follows Richard Hannay who gets embroiled in a wild spy adventure when he meets a secret agent at a theatre, who ends up dead in his flat. Accused of murder and desperate to stop important national secrets from being smuggled out of the country, he begins a wild chase to Scotland and back to the capital, encountering a variety of unhinged characters. Based on the 1915 book and 1935 Hitchcock film of the same name, it’s a comedy romance adventure staged with 4 actors who slip into different roles throughout the play.
While it’s a smaller production coming to London after a UK tour, it still has plenty of entertainment value to bring to the stage. With minimal props and stage dressing, it’s a hilarious ride full of surprises and hi-jinks. Actors wearing many hats, quite literally, while taking on a multitude of roles still manage to make each character distinct enough to keep track of who is who. It’s full of slap-stick moments, bad props played for laughs, and even a shadow puppetry scene making a wild chase highly entertaining. The physical comedy is on point, so is the comedic timing.
While the 100 minute run time did not need an interval and would have played better as a played-through performance, it’s a charming staging of a classic play that tends to be underrated due to the highly caricatured nature of its protagonists and low-fi staging. But it’s a very fun night out despite being quite understated.
