The 39 Steps

Interested in a hilarious comedy? Perhaps an edge of your seat thriller? Well you can get both for the price of one with this production of The 39 Steps; and a dash of insight for a bonus! The 39 Steps is a reincarnated piece of art. It began as a pre-World War 1 spy novel written by John Buchan, then was revived by Alfred Hitchcock in a 1935 film that Orson Welles called a “masterpiece”. However, in 2005 Patrick Barlow took this thriller and transformed it into a comedy that both parodies and honours that film and the spy thriller genre, while staying quite close to Hitchcock’s script. It also sneaks in some keen insight into human nature.

Director Carolee Mason’s production takes full advantage of the script, giving us broad knee slapping comedy, but a comedy that is also finely tuned, with many references that will draw you in and leave you begging for more.