The 39 Steps

The 39 Steps (book by John Buchan, film by Alfred Hitchcock and now this reworking of the spy novel) is rich pickings for comedy with every theme possible from romance, to politics, to murder and intrigue.   It opens with a bored Richard Hannay, an upper-class twit who is bored and he ponders how to fill his time. He goes to see a West End show, meets a mysterious gun wielding female and the evening is set for a series of memorable moments, lots of verbal and visual brilliance and an enormous number of laughs.

 Director Dan Holyhead assembled an excellent cast with Jon Hall leading the action as Hannay. Jon maintained the energy and comedy of Hannay’s character and was very enjoyable to watch.  He was well supported by a very talented cast.  Stephanie Miles as Annabella & Pamela.   Peter Bushby, Tina Romano and Phil Lines were listed as clown’s, but they played a major part in this production.  Also, good support came from Steven Blower and Kath Hollis. 

The set was ever changing with blocks becoming beds or train seats, four chairs formed a car.   Furniture whizzed around by the cast and crew.   Scene changes were efficient and seamless and were done while the action continued.

The music and sound effects were an integral part of the show and were hugely instrumental in its success and these were produced by Ben Hayfield and operated by Ami Hall.

Costumes and hairstyles were appropriate for the period and added to the nostalgic feel of the production. There were many quick changes, hats especially being used to show change of character, milkman, policeman, train guard and so on.  I especially enjoyed when two of the characters were changing from one coat to another at the same time.  There were so many funny moments and it was all staged extremely well.

The production was a delight from start to finish and enjoyed by an appreciative audience.

 

 Well done Trinity. 

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