Oxford Playhouse, 23 - 28 June 2008 and again 24 - 29 June 2013

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Jen is a Reviewer June 24, 2008

Since returning from the tropics
To this dim benighted shore
With its surfeit of dull topics
From socialites who bore,
My smile became seraphic
When I found upon the floor
The body sprawled (be graphic!)
Of my murdered visitor.
So then in a sort of panic,
Caught the seven thirty-four
To where the Rudyards still are Kipling
And the Haggards ride the moor.

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Su Jordan June 23, 2008

It's shows like this that remind one of exactly what is so great about theatre. Look mummy - it's like the telly, but three dimensional! There are real people running about in meatspace creating whole train journeys out of nothing but suitcases, fake steam and some impressive physical theatre skills! Never have I beheld a hat or coat being wobbled at high speed to such great effect. Who needs a wind machine when you've got synchronised hat wobbling?!

This stage adaptation of Hitchcock's 1935 film (based on the 1915 novel by John Buchan) is fast-paced enough to maintain the attention of any truly modern person, whilst - with its stylish 1930s set, RP accents, coiffuring and costumes - catering amply for maturer tastes too. Three cheers to those responsible for the casting, as picking good lookalikes for Hitchcock's original leading couple (Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll) - in combination with the actors' hammed-up, early-cinema-esque dramatic mannerisms - adds substantially to the pervading aura of spy-spoof Ealing comedy glamour. And four or more cheers (and on the show's first night, the same number of curtain calls) to the valiant cast, who crawl, run, leap, spin, jiggle and sweat their way through a particularly demanding, high-energy piece of theatre.

This is more slapstick comedy than thriller, and anyone expecting anything like the original novel (or the 1978 film starring Robert Powell) will be in for a surprise. Along pencil-moustachioed hero Richard Hannay's exhilarating journey to save Britain from military espionage, we become so caught up in the journey itself that we almost forget what our dashing protagonist is worrying about. At last, the 39 Steps mystery is disclosed in a hurried and throwaway fashion, and what matters most as our narrating hero draws things to a close is the love interest. Sound like your average night out at the cinema? Well, in times when we generally don't feel like a world war is just around the corner, we might as well have a good laugh. In any case, it's hard to see how four actors (and an anonymous hand) could play 139 roles (count them! I couldn't) in 100 minutes without inducing bouts of side-splitting hilarity - and I for one wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

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