Review: The 39 Steps
Venue: The Lowry
Date Reviewed: 4th June, 2008
The award winning (Oliver and whatsonstage.com, no less!) comedy smash, The 39 Steps is currently showing in London, on Broadway and in the regions, on a UK tour. So, what is it about this silly but very funny comedy which has captured so many theatre-goers’ imaginations?
The answer is two fold; knowing nostalgia and good old fashioned slap-stick humour, the play’s target being the John Buchan’s twist-ridden thriller, but more so, an affectionate and highly amusing spoof of all things Hitchcockian. These include, a shower curtain doubling as a stream, a rear window which moves about the stage, and Bernard Herman’s iconic Psycho music score.
The plot follows a decent chap, name of Richard Hanny (a right side of hammy David Michaels) who finds himself at the centre of a murder plot after a ‘brief encounter’ with a femme fatale. From here on, the play zips along at a frantic pace, delivering jokes and sight gags at every twist and turn.
This is all delivered with straight faces by the superbly synchronised cast of four. Like trained athletes, they pass the baton onto the next runner as they swap roles and scenes with real relish. Michaels is the dashing and confused hero and he plays it for all it’s worth, incorporating laughs via the most serious facial expressions, but with an arched eyebrow, throughout.
Clare Swinburne switches from Scottish loner, murder victim, and terribly stiff upper-lipped heroine with ease. Colin Mace and Alan Perrin make a dynamic double-act playing too many roles to mention, milking the script of laughs, with every wig and costume change.
The Alfred Hitchcock references are hardly subtle, even Norman Bates’ mother gets a look in, but it’s all done with tongue firmly planted firmly in its cheek and with such inventiveness that is never becomes staid. I loved the nods and winks towards “North By Northwest” and “Vertigo” but you don’t need to be a man/woman who knows too much about this great director’s work to get the jokes.
There is so much knock-about comedy on display here, that a secondary school pupil will love the show for these aspects, alone.
Maria Aitken’s direction may not be as consistently frenetic as the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it comedy of the first act. But, The 39 Steps is a good old harmless yarn; delightfully dotty and great fun.
-Glenn Meads
June 7th, 2008 at 11:26 am
I was lucky to win the tickets to see The 39 Steps with What’s On Stage Manchester and I took my husband along to Tuesday night’s performance. The play was hilarious right from the start and the energy of the four actors playing all those parts was amazing. Thank for a great night out!!