Review of Loft Theatre Company production of The 39 Steps (2010)

Nudging on towards its centenary, John Buchan’s breathless thriller has galvanised audiences in different ways over the years.

Originally it evoked patriotic foot-stamping and cheers as hero-on-the-run Richard Hannay kept his cross-country cool long enough to thwart the dastardly plans of evil foreign masterminds. Subsequently it became the meat in an Alfred Hitchcock sandwich of edge-of-seat movie suspense. Today it is seen as the stuff of send-up and mockery. Oh golly!

This production starts at a steady trot and quickly becomes a frantic gallop. Hannay is no sooner nursing a dead femme fatale than fleeing by train to the Scottish Highlands and dangling from the Forth Bridge. Director Steve Smith astutely makes it all happen with a cast of four and some cheekily minimal stage effects. The approach deliberately embodies everything in the book of theatrical coarseness with a wicked glee and undeniable affection.

The result is an all-out crowd-pleaser in which quick-switch antics and cross-dressing japes by the performers make for a Carry On type of comedy fest. The energy is both remarkable and commendable if at times somewhat excessive. Even deliberately going over the top requires a degree of restraint.

All incidental characters are classed in this adaptation by Patrick Barlow as being played by clowns, yet the show’s stronger moments lie in the scenes between Hannay and his fellow fugitive Pamela, played with a nice grasp of period style by Martin Eggleston and Carol Roache who spark effectively off each other.

Whether Buchan or Agatha Christie, old-fashioned thrillers in this vein automatically fall into self-parody when judged by today’s standards. It is then all too easy to overcook the meat.

But if out-and-out panto pranks are your forte, don’t miss it.

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Peter McGarry is an experienced, independent professional theatre critic who has agreed to review Loft Theatre Company productions.

The agreement with the Loft is that Peter is free to express his opinions for good or ill. The Loft Theatre Company has no control whatsoever over the content of these reviews and will never comment publicly on what he writes.