Last Saturday I made the grave decision to forego the sparkly delights of the Eurovision in order to see The 39 Steps in the Olympia Theatre. (I did have the Eurovision recording at home though, so I wasn’t completely turning my back on it, you understand.)
The 39 Steps, in this particular incarnation is a hilarious parody of the Hitchcock movie which was based on an adventure novel from 1915. Our hero, Richard Hannay (stiff upper lip and frightfully resourceful, what what) becomes entangled in a plot of murder, intrigue and spies, with a Hitchcock blonde thrown in, and all pulled off with the most gleeful silliness imaginable. The cast of four that make up the production somehow manage to juggle hats, costumes and props to allow them to switch between characters (and accents, for that matter) at top speed with some of the best physical comedy this side of the Ministry of Silly Walks. An outdoor chase scene is brilliantly played out with the use of shadow puppets and the script is loaded with Hitchcock references, sending up the crime thriller genre perfectly.
The entire show is so completely absurd that when you’re watching a chase that basically involves two characters jumping from one box to another and flapping their coats out behind them, you’re more than happy to accept that it’s taking place on the roof of a speeding train. (Honestly, it gives the train roof scene in Under Siege 2 a run for its money.)
The show is running until the 5th of June, so do try to catch it before it speeds off to its next destination. It’s jolly good fun, what-ho. And so forth.
A few of us from ‘Devious made the trip up for the Thursday night performance of the opening week - one of the best nights at the theatre I’ve had in ages, incredibly good show with impeccable timing, all kinds of theatrical devices thrown into the mix and great production values all round!
Damn it - its finished its run tomorrow? After reading the review I think this is one I would have liked to catch!
Great review
Sounds intriguing! Excellent review