Alfred Hitchcock's
The 39 Steps
The Palace Theatre, Southend-on-Sea
21st to 26th March 2016
The 39 Steps
The Palace Theatre, Southend-on-Sea
21st to 26th March 2016
My first thought before seeing the play of Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps was, ‘Should I see the film first?’ What I didn’t realise was that there are actually three films of The 39 Steps. Adapted from John Buchan’s classic novel, The Thirty-Nine Steps, Hitchcock’s film is, I expect, the most best known version; although I am told the 1978 version starring Robert Powell as the hero, Richard Hannay, is rather good and also stays more faithful to the book. In fact, Robert Powell proved to be such a good Hannay that he was asked to play the character again in the late eighties, in a television spin-off series simply called Hannay.
And so, despite still not having gotten round to seeing any of the films, I decided to go along and take the play simply at face value, something that I later found out from quite a few members of the audience, was something they did too.
Patrick Barlow’s adaption of the Hitchcock film played at the Criterion Theatre in London’s Piccadilly Circus for nine years and won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and is now touring across the UK. Having already been touring the play for three months, they are stopping for a week at Southend’s Palace Theatre. The old-fashioned, traditional style of The Palace Theatre creates the perfect surroundings for this play and really sets the mood of the piece.
Set in the summer of 1935, the play follows the incredible adventures of our handsome hero Richard Hannay, played by the very charming, Richard Ede (I know this because I met him earlier in the afternoon - check out pics at bottom), complete with stiff-upper-lip and pencil moustache. He finds himself caught up in dastardly murders, double-crossing secret agents, and, of course, devastatingly beautiful women. Richard plays the part perfectly with just the right amount of naivety and bravado to counteract his debonair enthusiasm which makes him a truly endearing character.
And so, despite still not having gotten round to seeing any of the films, I decided to go along and take the play simply at face value, something that I later found out from quite a few members of the audience, was something they did too.
Patrick Barlow’s adaption of the Hitchcock film played at the Criterion Theatre in London’s Piccadilly Circus for nine years and won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and is now touring across the UK. Having already been touring the play for three months, they are stopping for a week at Southend’s Palace Theatre. The old-fashioned, traditional style of The Palace Theatre creates the perfect surroundings for this play and really sets the mood of the piece.
Set in the summer of 1935, the play follows the incredible adventures of our handsome hero Richard Hannay, played by the very charming, Richard Ede (I know this because I met him earlier in the afternoon - check out pics at bottom), complete with stiff-upper-lip and pencil moustache. He finds himself caught up in dastardly murders, double-crossing secret agents, and, of course, devastatingly beautiful women. Richard plays the part perfectly with just the right amount of naivety and bravado to counteract his debonair enthusiasm which makes him a truly endearing character.
There are only 4 actors in the whole of the production who fearlessly play all 130 roles in this fast-paced comedy thriller. Richard, however, is the only actor who just plays the same character. All of the three women he encounters are played with great gusto and believability by the beautiful Olivia Greene, leaving the other 126 characters to be played by Andrew Hodges and Rob Witcomb who are billed, rather unimpressively, as just ‘Man 2’ and ‘Man 1’ in the programme - why in that order, I have no idea - perhaps someone can satisfy my curiosity on that one?
These two, for me, are the underlying heroes of the show, with such clever costume and character changes - some in split seconds - and at times even playing the parts of mud, rain, a stream, an owl and even a cleft in the rocks, they really give terrific performances. (Drama school students take note - these lessons are clearly not wasted.)
These two, for me, are the underlying heroes of the show, with such clever costume and character changes - some in split seconds - and at times even playing the parts of mud, rain, a stream, an owl and even a cleft in the rocks, they really give terrific performances. (Drama school students take note - these lessons are clearly not wasted.)
One brilliantly played-out scene is when the action takes place on a train and despite there not physically being a train on the stage, you can really believe that the characters are travelling on an old steam train chugging its way up to Scotland.
If you watch and listen carefully, there are a few subtle nods towards Hitchcock’s other films in this play. There is a nice little silhouetted scene involving Hannay’s character running away from the police across the moors, which will have the keen-eyed amongst us recognising the outline of a rather familiar gait.
This production is run as a really tight ship and although there is just a cast of 4, the touring company is made up of a backstage team of eight who have an incredible amount of work to do in this show. Musical sound effects give the feel of the old melodramatic films of the thirties and forties and with lighting and sound cues aplenty, these guys really have their work cut out, with lots of precision timing needed to keep the flow of the action going which they do at a fantastic pace.
Do you need to see the film before you go? No, you really don’t. This is a wonderfully inventive and gripping production with plenty of chuckles throughout and certainly not one to be missed while it’s here at the fabulous Palace Theatre.
If you watch and listen carefully, there are a few subtle nods towards Hitchcock’s other films in this play. There is a nice little silhouetted scene involving Hannay’s character running away from the police across the moors, which will have the keen-eyed amongst us recognising the outline of a rather familiar gait.
This production is run as a really tight ship and although there is just a cast of 4, the touring company is made up of a backstage team of eight who have an incredible amount of work to do in this show. Musical sound effects give the feel of the old melodramatic films of the thirties and forties and with lighting and sound cues aplenty, these guys really have their work cut out, with lots of precision timing needed to keep the flow of the action going which they do at a fantastic pace.
Do you need to see the film before you go? No, you really don’t. This is a wonderfully inventive and gripping production with plenty of chuckles throughout and certainly not one to be missed while it’s here at the fabulous Palace Theatre.
Ask the Audience
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Simon, 56, Southend-on-Sea
“I’ve seen the Robert Powell film but I don’t think it really matters if you haven’t seen the film. It was very funny. The Man 1 and Man 2 characters stood out for me - it was so clever how they constantly switched roles.” Jenny, 45, Westcliff-on-Sea “I thought it was really funny and really clever with just the four actors in the cast.” |
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Charlie Mayes, 19, Shoeburyness
“I wanted to see it when it was in the West End but never got to see it so that’s why I’ve come to see it tonight in Southend. I loved the use of a minimalist set; it was really good, very effective and funny. You really get immersed in the story and the fact that there are only 4 people in the cast adds to the comedy factor. The Man 1 really stood out for me, especially when he was playing a woman!”
We meet The 39 Steps actors, Richard Ede and Olivia Greene who very kindly took some time out from their technical rehearsal on Monday to pose for some photos for MyTownSouthend!
photo credit: David Hannington
photo credit: David Hannington
