The 39 Steps

Concept lived up to their reputation of staging the unusual and doing the unexpected with their autumn tour with a stage adaptation of John Buchan’s tale of intrigue and espionage, with a cast of one hundred. All of which were played by four talented actors in a riot of characters, sinister and hilarious brilliantly and colourfully performed.
Laurence Clarke, as super-hero Richard Hannay, excelled in a smooth, almost Bond-like, performance and proved adept at gentle throwaway and one-liner humour. Listed in the programme as ‘clowns’, versatile Claire Hovey, Paul Buckle and Ellie Hoare convincingly played all the characters that Hannay encounters with clarity and often at breakneck speed.
The success of the play owed much to the excellent lighting plot by Kevin Morgan, and Ellie Morgan and sound design by Laura McMahon and Nick Screen, which featured backing music compiled from Hitchcock films to great effect.
In a highly imaginative and inventive production by Ruairidh MacLeod-Lyon, made great use of props and effects to create the most unlikely scenes and played at a frantic pace. The play was riveting entertainment.
I haven’t laughed so much for a long time.

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