Little could John Buchan have imagined, when he first published “The Thirty-Nine Steps” as a serial in 1915, that the novel which introduced adventurer Richard Hannay to the world would in little over a century give rise to four films, at least a dozen radio adaptations, a video game and two stage plays. Patrick Barlow’s comic adaptation, which runs at the New Vic until March 28th, is a 2005 rewrite of Simon Corble and Nobby Dillon’s 1995 play which in turn draws upon the 1935 Hitchcock film, all of which share the shortened name “The 39 Steps” as Hitchcock departed considerably from the book.
We first meet Richard (Isaac Stanmore) in his Portland Place home. It’s August 1935, rumours of war are in the air and Richard is bored, having returned home from his travels to find all his friends now married or otherwise indisposed. To cheer himself up, he goes – where else? – to the theatre to watch an act called “Mister Memory”. Here he meets the mysterious Annabella Schmidt (Rebecca Brewer). Frightened that two gentlemen are planning to kill her, Annabella invites herself home with him. That night, she is indeed murdered, but not before leaving Richard with some tantalising clues: a threat to national security, a Professor Jordan who has a big house in Scotland and the names “The 39 Steps” and “Altnashellach”.
Gareth Cassidy and Michael Hugo are credited in the programme simply as “Clowns”, possibly because it would have taken too much space to list all the characters they play in what is about to become a fast-paced action adventure. They are the two travelling salesmen with whom Hannay shares a compartment on the train north as he races to simultaneously clear his name of Annabella’s murder and avert the threat to national security, they are the station dispatcher and newspaper boy at Edinburgh station and they are the policemen who are searching for Hannay (whose picture is by now on the front page of the newspapers) on the train. All with their own costumes and accents, and in the space of less than five minutes. Don’t lose concentration for even a moment or you’ll miss something!
Hannay tries to avoid arrest by going into the compartment of Pamela (Brewer), a complete stranger whom he surprises somewhat by kissing her passionately as the policemen pass by. Unimpressed, she reports him to the policemen and he jumps from the train on the Forth Bridge. After a trek across country and a near-miss with the police, our hero finds Altnashellach – the home of Professor and Mrs. Jordan (Hugo and Cassidy) – only to learn that the Professor, far from being the antidote to the security threat, is actually its mastermind…
Arrested again, Hannay and Pamela (who is suspected of being an accomplice) make good yet another escape, this time across the moors to an old Highland hotel where we meet my favourite Hugo and Cassidy characters, the delightfully obsequious McGarrigles. Here the fugitives sign in under a false name and are forced to share the only available room. Watch for some very quick and clever costume changes as the McGarrigles are questioned by the two detectives, a real stand-out moment. When Pamela learns the truth which is the key to clearing Hannay’s name she resolves to join him on the final quest to bring Annabella’s killers to justice and reveal the truth about the Thirty-Nine Steps.
This production is great fun to watch with lots of visual humour that’s quite difficult to get across in a written review. It’s very stylishly done too, with each scene change choreographed by Beverley Norris-Edmunds into a dance routine accompanied by James Atherton’s authentic 1930's score. Clearly the people of North Staffordshire loved it, rising to their feet to applaud two hours of superb theatre.
Traffic on the A500 apart, the New Vic is one of my favourite venues. Everybody is really friendly and with its excellent café and bar (with two very good real ales), well-stocked shop and ample on-site parking it has everything necessary for a great night out.
Reviewer - Ian Simpson
on - 6/3/20
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