The 39 Steps

Venue: The Criterion Theatre, London
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Dates: Present - Saturday 5th September 2009
Times: Monday - Saturday at 8pm, Tuesday at 3pm, Saturday at 4pm
Duration: 3 hours
Prices & Availabilities: Enquire with Gift-Tours!

"The 39 Steps" is a an exhilarating story set in the time leading up to the First World War with its action moving between England and Scotland. It was made into a theatrical play fairly recently with its first stage performance being in 2005 in the excellent West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. Critics have hailed this latest London stage version in the superb ‘Criterion Theatre’ as one of the greatest thrillers in west-end theatres and claimed that the high-suspense action does not fail to get audiences on the edge of their seats.

The plot is based around its protagonist Richard Hannay, who has just come to live in a flat in London after having spent an extensive time in Africa. Following the murder of a man in London, Richard is wrongly accused of the crime and is forced to flee to Scotland with a notebook containing some important codes. Richard is forced to cover up his steps as he moves up north for he is wanted by both the police and some sinister criminal gangs. In time Richard comes to work out the codes kept in his notebook and the phrases ‘the 39 steps’ and ‘the black stone’ are deciphered. Richard is perplexed at first as to what these mysterious phrases refer to, but gradually he realises that ‘the black stone’ could refer to a gang and ‘the 39 step’ could possibly be a place. The remainder of the play shows Richard trying to bring the pieces of the jigsaw together and the plot thickens as Richard realises that he is on the verge of uncovering a plot by the Germans to steal English military secrets.

Patrick Barlow’s version of this John Buchan thriller has had rave reviews from the English press for its faithfulness to the original Buchan novel and the clever way in which Barlow has brought it to the stage. Barlow’s ingenuity is his ability to ensure that the play is not only tense, but also extremely funny and witty.

The cast at the Criterion are also excellent and very convincing as Buchan’s characters. It is difficult to find many faults with this production, but it is possible to say that younger audiences might be put off by the early 20th century setting of this production. However, this play should still manage to draw younger audiences for its fast action, political nature and comic elements provide as much entertainment as many modern Hollywood thrillers.

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