Culture

Adapted by Patrick Barlow
Original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon
Directed by Hilary Norris
Starring Patrick Davies, Anna Henare, Mark Neilson and Danny Still
Fortune Theatre Mainstage
May 21 – June 12


A supremely funny spoof of Alfred Hitchcock's classic movie, The Fortune Theatre’s current production The 39 Steps promises to bring its audiences alluring sex-bombs, trains, guns, leaps from tall structures, mad chases, suspense, old fashioned goodies and baddies, plus a dizzying wit that will apparently leave you laughing for days.
Critic met with actors Patrick Davies and Anna Henare to discuss The 39 Steps, the play that requires Hitchcock’s classic film be performed, almost verbatim, by an ensemble cast of four. How is this even possible, you might ask? Davies is the first to admit that taking on such a task can be a bit of a ‘sweat-waster.’ Where the comedy in The 39 Steps relies largely on the abilities of the ensemble to execute lightning-fast changes in physicality, accents, and gender, and occasionally for them to play multiple characters at once, the audience is really in the hands of the actors. If the actors are having a good time, the audience will too, and luckily the rapport between Davies and Henare suggests to me that this play will be nothing if not fun for the actors themselves. 
The 39 Steps promises to be “slick, clever and hilarious” (Henare) and an ‘anonymous’ cast member suggested The 39 Steps would be particularly hilarious after a “couple of bevvies.” I, at least, am happy to take (his) word for it.