Adapted by Patrick Barlow. From the novel by John Buchan. From the movie by Alfred Hitchcock. Directed by Damien Ryan.
A comedy that aims to be two mediums falls somewhere in neither, whilst still managing to land laugh out loud moments
Reviewed by Justin Clarke
Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House
Until 30th August
Newcastle 2nd – 6th Sep Civic Theatre
Melbourne 10th Sep – 4th Oct Comedy Theatre
Brisbane 7th – 19th Oct QPAC Playhouse
Tickets: https://the39steps.com.au/
Type: Spoof Comedy, Screen to Stage, Slapstick
If you liked: Alfred Hitchcock films, Physical Comedy, The Naked Gun
Director Damien Ryan’s foreword on the remounted Sydney tour of The 39 Steps talks about the intersectionality between the mediums of film and theatre with great zest. In the age of digital media and the introduction of AI being continuously pervasive, Ryan’s clear passion for theatre shines through. The 39 Steps presents this intersectionality in physical comedy, with black and white hues of Alfred Hitchcock’s oeuvre plastered across sets and actors. The commitment to honouring both mediums however results in a middling production that lacks a true sense of either form.
Jack Buchan’s novel, which became a Hitchcockian classic and then an eventual West End darling thanks to Patrick Barlow’s adaptation, is an ode to the spy genre where no one and nothing is truly what it seems. The men are gruellingly melancholic and self-pitying. The women are seductive and elusive, prone to breaking their virtues for a charming man with a pencil moustache. And the villains always end up being German or Deutschland-adjacent. Ah, the “Golden Age” of cinema.
This comedic spoof on Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps pokes gentle fun at the tropes of the spy genre with the roles of 130 characters given to just four gifted actors. Our melancholic protagonist is the unsuspecting Richard Hannay (Ian Stenlake) who finds himself framed for murder and on the run to the northern moors of the Scottish isles. Tangled in a web of spies, secrets and grandschemes, he needs to outrun international agents in trench cloaks and uncover the secret of the mysterious 39 Steps.
It’s often difficult to pinpoint exactly what The 39 Steps is in terms of the outfit it wears. Is it a play within a play disaster setup akin to The Play That Goes Wrong (which recently played in the same theatre to sell out crowds)? Or is it a more classic style of 80’s spoof comedy similar to the hugely successful remount of the Naked Gun franchise? In wanting to be both, The 39 Steps is neither. There are moments where the actors break character when one gets stuck in a dialogue loop, with hisses of “Get on with it!” being yelled in frustration. Whereas other moments harness non-diegetic sound to add moments of humour into a tense scene that the characters play with – a gun raised amplifies the sound, whilst lowering it deafens it and the schtick plays out. There are definitely high points of humour found throughout, but without a concrete setup the result is directionless.
Set and costume design by James Browne is both intricate and simple. Browne’s costumes are both magnificently decorative in studded jewels and beads for the femme fatale, whilst increasingly varied in the roles of the four actors that shift jackets and don hats at an absurd rate. Contrastingly, the backdrop of the set relies on shadows and cutouts to make a two dimensional style of puppetry to take us on top of moving trains, vast mansions with echoing halls, and the theatre of the London Palladium.
The creatives have leaned into the black and white aesthetic throughout, with all costumes, faces and sets sitting in the monochromatic style of Hitchcock’s film. At first it’s a charming throwback to cinema of the past, but there’s a reason we introduced colour into film. I was hoping that throughout Hannay’s adventures, the world which he sees as dull and lifeless, would gain more colour as he discovers a true sense of self. By the end, I was anticipating that the set, the costumes and the world he now lives in would be bursting with colours of all shades.
Australian comedy duo The Umbilical Brothers…are the golden ingredients that really get this production flying
Sadly, it stays monochromatic and the production suffers from this lifelessness. This is mostly seen in Matthew Marshall’s lighting design, which predominately harnesses four individual high focused LEDs which sit either side of the stage, hitting the actors side on with white light. Whilst it casts some immense shadows onto the stage walls, and often hits moments of tension and espionage, the actors are in a constant battle to give their counterparts light. They either stand slightly backwards, or forwards so as not to cast themselves in shadow, and it becomes a distraction for an altogether darkly lit production.
As the shapeshifting performers, Australian comedy duo The Umbilical Brothers (David Collins and Shane Dundas) are the golden ingredients that really get this production flying. The pair play the majority of the characters in the piece from maids, to innkeepers, policemen, detectives, paper boys, spooky mistresses, scheming villains, Scottish farmers, and West End performers. Their iconic vocal work is also on display with Ryan allowing both Collins and Dundas to do what they do best. When paired together they create their own sound effects, physical body work and land comedic timing perfectly. It’s smashing stuff!
Theatre and TV darling Lisa McCune is pure perfection as the many women Hannay comes across in his journey. She shows the physicality of the trained dancer that won her the finale of Dancing with the Stars, with moments of ballet twirls, Scottish hopstepping, and body core work in the rigor mortis induced femme fatale.
…sits in a purgatorial realm of existence, filled with a heft of bold artistic choices – which we love to see…
Stenlake’s high points come from the moments of absurdity that Hannay witnesses. This fish out of water approach when played with the dryness of Leslie Nielsen is where the chewy bits of comedy are really thrown to the audience. Together with McCune, the pair lean into the bit and play off each other with experience that’s reflective of their long bios in the show’s program.
A production that charges blindly into the void of comedy without a clear rudder to steer the ship lands some big laughs along its journey, thanks mostly to the stellar leads at its core. Largely, it sits in a purgatorial realm of existence, filled with a heft of bold artistic choices – which we love to see – but yielding results below the bar it reaches for.
Theatre Thought: Comedy is altogether subjective and the continuous revival of one style can often feel tiresome. How do we blend comedy for big laughs in a contemporary society?
CAST & CREATIVES
Lisa McCune
Ian Stenlake
David Collins From The Umbilical Brothers
Shane Dundas From The Umbilical Brothers
Director – Damien Ryan
Set and Costume Designer – James Browne
Lighting Designer – Matthew Marshall
Adapted by Patrick Barlow
From the novel by John Buchan
From the movie by Alfred Hitchcock
Licensed by ITV Global Entertainment Limited
And an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon
