100 minutes, 139 characters, 6 actors, and GO! This is essentially the essence behind The 39 Steps, the melodramatic farce adapted from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1930’s murderous classic. Set in 1930’s Blighty, the story is the adventure of the painfully British (and painfully handsome) Richard Hannay.
Richard Hannay is like a tongue in cheek 1930’s James Bond as he woos every attractive lady in sight and jumps through windows and onto trains as he tries to escape spies and cunning murderers. The show is fast paced and action packed with many references to the Hitchcock area and his other popular Hollywood films.
The 39 Steps is a testament to the acting profession as only 6 actors create the entire action packed adventure, with one actor playing the lead role, and four other actors create each and every villain, spy, goody and baddy you could think of! All set and scenery is created with the actor’s manipulation in a hail of physical theatre.
Patrick Barlow’s adaptation of The 39 Steps, John Buchan’s beloved novel, celebrates the glamorous moodiness of Hollywood’s suspense dramas of the 1930s and 1940s. And no master of the classic thriller surpassed Alfred Hitchcock, the genius behind Rebecca, Notorious, and, of course, The 39 Steps.
In devising this adaptation, Barlow celebrates the actor’s craft. Only six actors create the world of pre-World War II England and Scotland – Britain on the brink. With only a change of hat or coat, Only a ladder or chair, The actors build a world of spies, villains, and lovers. As a director, I, too, celebrate the inventiveness of theatre artists. And not just actors.
I’m intrigued by the unique demands placed on designers, stage managers, wardrobe people, and stagehands. Lurking backstage at a complex theatre production can be just as entertaining as the play itself. Split second timing offstage – in a tiny space and in the dark – is as necessary to an enjoyable evening at the theatre as the work that the actors are doing in front of the audience. The actors become the backstage crew and front of stage crew with scene changes.
While contemplating the concept for the show, the image that stuck in my mind was the RKO Proctors Theater in L.A. The idea that the original film was premiered in a beautiul theater that has now faded into oblivion - was intriguing. The set was designed to evoke this sense of a lost time in B&W old hollywood, by featuring a dilapadated movie house as the set.
The world of 1930s Britain is created by both the onstage and “offstage” theatre artists, simultaneously and seamlessly. You, the audience, are allowed a glimpse into the funhouse that operates just a few feet away from the limelight – and I am grateful to Patrick Barlow and John Buchan for devising this tale that allows me to show off the inventiveness and dexterity of the truly creative artist students we have at Sewickley Academy.
~ M.B. Griffin
