The 39 Steps

This was a night of firsts for me as not only was this my first visit to the lovely intimate 120 seat Theatre itself but also my pleasure to see a select few of the talented performers from The Priory Theatre itself. Not forgetting the fact that I had not seen The 39 Steps before either!

What an absolutely fantastic performance this was, hilarious, clever, slick, superbly directed and so professional in every respect. My husband and I haven’t laughed so much in ages.

On doing some further research it is my understanding that the script calls for four ridiculously talented actors who (according to a couple of sources) are required to play between 130 and 139 roles depending on the production. On this occasion I am reliably informed there were 36 different roles in play during 100 minuets of fast paced fun and action. Most of the characters needed to not only be created on stage in sight of the audience but then also changed/switched at the blink of an eye.

On scanning the QR code in the foyer I was able to gather more about the story.

During a performance at a London music hall, Ben Wellicome played  Richard Hannay who witnesses chaos when gunfire erupts. I must commend Ben who did not appear to falter in any way when delivering the fast paced dialogue, although how he didn’t laugh at most of the antics I will never know. Outside, he's approached by Annabella Schmidt played by Nicky Main who reveals she's a foreign spy helping the British.She tells Hannay about a dangerous conspiracy involving an enemy agent with a missing finger joint. That night, Annabella is spectacularly killed whilst in Hannay's flat. Nicky did a tremendous job maintaining a stiff as a board dead body across the arms of a chair.

Fearing arrest and seeking answers, Hannay flees. He reaches King's Cross Station and boards a train to Scotland. He is joined on the train by Becky Young and Rob Jones who are listed in the programme as Clowns, ultimately the two played nearly all the other parts with aplomb, both were absolutely fantastic. The train carriage was depicted very effectively using large wooden boxes used as seats and lots of bodily movement to replicate the carriages travel on the railway tracks. He then meets Nicky again this time she is playing Pamela, who he kisses inappropriately to try and evade detection.

Hannay deceives the police and reaches his destination, heading toward a village. He meets a stern crofter and disguises himself as a labourer looking for work. The crofter mentions a professor in the next village, whom Hannay believes is his contact. It's too late to reach him, so Hannay pays for lodging and stays the night with the crofter and his younger wife who, its obvious, has taken quite a shine to him.

He arrives at the professor's house to find a lively party underway. The professor leads him into his study, where Hannay recounts his story. However, the truth quickly becomes apparent as the professor is the very man with the missing finger. He draws a gun and fires at Hannay. The bullet is stopped by the hymnal inside the crofter’s coat, preventing Hannay from being harmed. He then heads to the local sheriff for assistance but is met with doubt. Left without options, Hannay decides to leave the office quickly.

With the police pursuing him, Hannay sneaks into a political event and is mistaken for the guest speaker. It was the completely incomprehensible speech delivered by Becky that stole this scene for me, brilliant. It is here, he once again encounters Pamela and they are forced together.

One of the funniest moments was when the pair were put into a car, cobbled together from 2 stools 2 chairs and a lectern. It soon becomes clear they are going the wrong way, It was at this moment that lots of large ballon sheep fell from the flys, blocking the road, much to the audience's delight. Hannay drags Pamela, still handcuffed to him, and escapes. There was an entertaining interlude whilst trying to negotiate the stile still in said handcuffs their arms and legs in a well choreographed tangle.  

My absolute favourite scene took place at a boarding house; Hannay persuades Pamela to pose as his eloping partner to avoid suspicion. Rob Jones was superb as the Scottish lady hotel owner. With Becky Young dipping down behind the reception desk only to pop back up as someone else, hilarious.

I could go on to tell you how the story ends however I would rather talk a little about the large creative team behind the scenes. The scenery designed and built in house really worked well depicting the scenes, I loved the aeroplane and the wired scarfs worn by Rob and Becky. The period costumes were all great enabling the actors to quickly and easily transform into their next character. As a detail person it’s the little things that set this production apart, some examples being - coloured liquid to replicate a nice cup of tea and real sandwich’s that were eaten on stage were amongst my many observations, in fact I am still  recalling these little crucial details and I think I will be for some time to come.

As a Noda representative for quite a few years now, without doubt this play was one of the best I have seen to date.

Thank you so much for the kind invitation, we had a really enjoyable evening

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