39 Steps

I have to confess to never having seen 39 Steps before, neither the film nor the stage play so this was an ideal time to experience this classic comedy by Patrick Barlow.

Anybody who has seen this play will know one of the central characters is The Memory Man who appears on stage at the beginning of the play and who gets shot at the end as he is delivering the real meaning of the 39 Steps.

This play was a tough one for any company to deliver, having so many characters and scenes in order to make this a truly believable production.

Here Rotherham Rep were able to deliver the goods with only 5 actors and a minimal set and what a great performance it was by everyone involved. It must be an extremely difficult act for anyone to be able to not only remember all their respective lines but also to remember which character and which accent they were going to deliver them how and in but I have to say, much to the delight of the audience not a single person faltered in this task.

The only actor who remained in the same character all the way through was Shaun McHale as Richard Hannay, the person who was investigating the mysterious 39 Steps and he was perfect throughout the whole play.

Shaun’s fellow actors who played all the other characters in various costumes and accents were Yvette Sayles, Anthony Lancashire, Joe Brooke and Heather Stotton, all of whom I cannot give enough praise.

Thank you to everyone involved in this masterpiece which was loved by the entire audience and congratulations has to go to Elliot Montgomery who directed this piece.

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