The 39 Steps
Adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan and the film by Alfred Hitchcock
Derby Theatre
–
Cal McCrystal is regarded as one of Britain’s most celebrated comedy directors, so it was a no-brainer that Derby Theatre and Hull Truck would turn to the Belfast-born award-winner to take charge of The 39 Steps.
The laughter specialist takes humour very seriously. It’s this philosophy which has earned him plaudits for much of his work, most notably as comedy director on the National Theatre’s One Man, Two Guvnors by Richard Bean and director of Joe Orton’s Loot at the old Derby Playhouse.
The 39 Steps is equally as funny as the other two productions just mentioned. However, it’s difficult to know how much of the credit should go to adapter Patrick Barlow, how much extra comedy is inserted by McCrystal and which bits of the comedy are down to the incredibly hard-working cast who were allowed to contribute their own ideas.
Kathryn Perkins, Ryan Starling, Sophie Bloor and James Keningale [images: Graeme Braidwood]
McCrystal told us on the BTG podcast that one of the challenges of staging The 39 Steps is it has to be tailored to the actors who are playing the roles. He could hardly have wished for a better cast.
Ryan Starling, who explained in the podcast that he fell on the floor laughing when he heard he’d got the role, is superb as the debonair, dapper Richard Hannay. He finds he’s the prime suspect in a murder he didn’t commit. Starling has boundless energy, which means he can throw himself across the stage as he tries to get away from his pursuers.
Sophie Bloor and Ryan Starling
He has great chemistry with Sophie Bloor, a Derby Theatre Youth Company alumna. She impresses as German spy Annabella who gets stabbed in the back in the first act before Bloor re-emerges as a downtrodden yet defiant crofter’s wife when the action moves north of the border.
She also gives a memorable portrayal of Pamela, who has a love-hate relationship with Hannay when the two of them are handcuffed together.
The pair work so well together that on the night I saw the play, they cracked up when well-travelled Hannay explained the joys of the Derbyshire town of Ilkeston—where Bloor grew up. She also cleverly ad libs when one of her handcuffs comes open.
James Keningale and Kathryn Perkins play more than 120 characters between them, from incompetent police officers to devious spies. They are incredibly versatile, transforming from one character into another by adopting a different accent and a change of clothing. Their comic timing is exceptional.
Keningale shines especially as a milkman and a jealous Scottish crofter who’s convinced his wife is having an affair with Hannay.
Kathryn Perkins and James Keningale
Perkins, who has an abundance of facial expressions, is at her best when playing a boozy, nosy cleaner and when she dies a painful death as Mr Memory, a music-hall act who holds the secret of the 39 steps.
The fifth member of the cast is Tom Mitchell, who gets applause as he moves furniture on and off set and plays a wooden Chief Inspector Albright towards the end. The audience loved him.
In the programme, McCrystal says he wants the audience to leave the theatre still clutching their sides after watching The 39 Steps. Most of them did on the night I saw it. Unforgettable.
* This review originally appeared on the British Theatre Guide website
