39 Steps

by Simon Corble

The 39 Steps is a farce adapted from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock.[1] Patrick Barlow wrote the adaptation, based on the original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon of a two-actor version of the play. Barlow had originally intended to portray the character of Richard Hannay, but focused solely on rewriting the original version.[2]

The play’s concept calls for the entirety of the 1935 adventure film The 39 Steps to be performed with a cast of only four. One actor plays the hero, Richard Hannay, an actress plays the three women with whom he has romantic entanglements, and two other actors play every other character in the show: heroes, villains, men, women, children and even the occasional inanimate object. This often requires lightning fast quick changes and occasionally for them to play multiple characters at once. Thus the film’s serious spy story is played mainly for laughs, and the script is full of allusions to (and puns on the titles of) other Alfred Hitchcock films, including Rear Window, Psycho and North by Northwest.

Production

The first version of the play with a cast of four actors premiered in June 2005 at the West Yorkshire Playhouse,[3][4] directed by Fiona Buffini.[5] The featured actors were Robert Whitelock, Lisa Jackson, Simon Gregor and Mark Hadfield.[6] Maria Aitken directed the revised production in its London premiere at the Tricycle Theatre (London),[7] which opened on 10 August 2006 titled John Buchan’s The 39 Steps.[8] The cast for the London premiere comprised Rupert Degas, Charles Edwards, Simon Gregor and Catherine McCormack. The production transferred to the Criterion Theatre in London’s West End in September 2006.[9] On August 27, 2008 a Spanish production opened at Maravillas Theatre in Madrid directed by Eduardo Bazo and starring Gabino Diego, Jorge de Juan, Diego Molero and Patricia Conde (later replaced by Beatriz Rico).

United States premiere

The play had its U.S. premiere at the Boston University Theatre, by the Huntington Theater Company, in Boston on September 19, 2007.[2][10] Billed as Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, it opened on Broadway in a Roundabout Theatre production at the American Airlines Theatre, with previews beginning January 4, 2008 and the official opening on January 15, 2008.[8] The initial run concluded on March 29, 2008, and transferred to the Cort Theatre on April 29, 2008 and then transferred to the Helen Hayes Theatre on January 21, 2009.[11] Aitken also directed the United States productions, and Edwards transferred to these productions as Richard Hannay, the only actor from the UK cast to do so. The other actors in the premiere US productions are Jennifer Ferrin, Arnie Burton and Cliff Saunders. Edwards concluded his run on July 6, 2008, and Sam Robards took over the role of Richard Hannay.[12][13]

In December 2008 it was announced that Sean Mahon would take over the role of Richard Hannay. Jeffrey Kuhn (Man#1) and Francesca Faridany (Annabella Schmidt, Margaret and Pamela) joined the cast on October 28, 2008.[14] The show had its final Broadway performance on 10 January 2010 after 771 performances, “the longest-running Broadway play in seven years” (according to the writer for Playbill.com).[15][16] The 39 Steps transferred to the off-Broadway venue New World Stages, reopening on 25 March 2010.[16]

Awards

The play won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy in 2007 and the What’s On Stage Award for Best Comedy 2007.

The 2008 Roundabout Broadway production won the 2008 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience and Outstanding Lighting Design (Kevin Adams). It won two Tony Awards on June 15, 2008 for Best Lighting Design and Best Sound Design. It was nominated for four other Tonys: Best Play, Best Direction of a Play (Maria Aitken), Best Scenic Design of a Play (Peter McKintosh) and Best Costume Design of a Play (Peter McKintosh).

Film references & production notes

The play shares the plot and characters with the film. However, the play is a more comic treatment of the story, in the style of Monty Python and Barlow’s own National Theatre of Brent,[17] compared to the original and more serious film. The play incorporates references and use of music excerpts from other Hitchcock films.

As well, the cast of four actors portrays between 100 and 150 roles, including actors doubling parts within the same scene.[2][5][8] The quick, comic changes are reminiscent of Charles Ludlam’s The Mystery of Irma Vep.[1] The part of Richard Hannay is the only one where the actor does not double in another role in the play.

Plot

Richard Hannay is at a London theatre, attending a demonstration of the remarkable powers of “Mr. Memory”, a man with a photographic memory, when a fight breaks out and shots are fired. In the ensuing panic, he finds himself holding the hand of the frightened Annabella Schmidt, who talks him into taking her back to his flat. There, she tells him that she is a spy, being chased by assassins out to kill her. She says that she has uncovered a plot to steal vital British military secrets, implemented by a man with the top joint missing from one of his fingers, who is the head of an espionage organisation called the “39 Steps”.

The next day, Hannay wakes up to find her dead, stabbed with his bread knife. He sneaks out of the flat disguised as a milkman and takes a train to Scotland, where she had told him she was going to find the man. On the train, he sees the police on his trail. In desperation, he enters a compartment and kisses the sole occupant, the attractive Pamela, in an attempt to escape detection. She, however manages to free herself from his unwanted embrace and betrays him to the law. He jumps from the train onto the Forth Rail Bridge and escapes.

He stays the night with a poor older farmer and his younger wife who flirts with Hannay. The next morning, he leaves in the farmer’s Sunday coat, and calls at the house the woman had told him of. There he finds the man with the missing finger-joint, the seemingly respectable Professor Jordan, who shoots him after a brief conversation and leaves him for dead. Fortunately for Hannay, the bullet is unable to pierce the farmer’s prayer-book, left in a coat pocket, and Hannay flees once more.

He goes to the police, but they refuse to accept his story, since they know Jordan well. Hannay jumps through a window and escapes into the crowd. He tries to hide himself in a political meeting where he is mistaken for the keynote speaker. He subsequently gives a rather rousing impromptu speech without knowing a single thing about the candidate he is introducing, but then he is recognised by Pamela, who gives him up once more. They are handcuffed together and taken away by “policemen”. Hannay eventually realises they are agents of the conspiracy when they bypass the nearest police station. When the car is forced to stop, he escapes, dragging an unwilling Pamela along.

They travel cross country, and stay the night at an inn, the girl still not believing Hannay’s story. While he sleeps, she slips out of the handcuffs, but then eavesdrops on one of the fake policemen on the telephone downstairs; the conversation confirms Hannay’s assertions. She returns to the room and sleeps on a sofa. Next morning, she tells him what she heard, and is sent to London to pass it on to the police. No secrets have been reported missing however, so they do nothing to help. Instead, they follow her to get to Hannay.

She leads them to Mr. Memory’s show at the London Palladium, where the police close in on the fugitive. When the performer is introduced, Hannay recognises his theme music – it is the annoyingly catchy tune he has not been able to forget for days. Hannay puts two and two together and realises that Mr. Memory is how the spies are smuggling the secrets out: he has them memorized. As the police take him into custody, he shouts out a question about the 39 Steps. When Mr. Memory compulsively begins to answer, Jordan shoots him and tries to flee, but is shot as well. The dying Mr. Memory recites the information stored in his brain, a design for silent aircraft, and Hannay and the girl stroll off, hand in hand.

Opening & Closing Dates	Type & Version	Theatre
Jan 15, 2008 – Jan 10, 2010	Play / Original	American Airlines Theatre, NY, USA Cort Theatre, NY, USA Helen Hayes Theatre, NY, USA

Videos

Roles

Role	World Premiere Cast 17 June 2005 West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds	London Premiere Cast 10 August 2006 Tricycle Theatre, London	USA Premiere Cast 19 September 2007 Huntington Theatre Company, Boston	Madrid Premiere Cast 27 August 2008 Teatro Maravillas, Madrid	Paris Premiere Cast 10 October 2010 Théâtre La Bruyère, Paris
Richard Hannay	Robert Whitelock	Charles Edwards	Charles Edwards	Jorge de Juan	Christophe Laubion
Annabella Schmidt Pamela / Margaret	Lisa Jackson	Catherine McCormack	Jennifer Ferrin	Patricia Conde	Andrea Bescond
Clown / Man #1	Simon Gregor	Simon Gregor	Cliff Saunders	Gabino Diego	Eric Metayer
Clown / Man #2	Mark Hadfield	Rupert Degas	Arnie Burton	Diego Molero	Jean-Philippe Beche

World Productions

2005, Leeds – West Yorkshire Playhouse

2006, London – Tricycle Theatre

2006, London West End – Criterion Theatre

2007, Boston – Huntington Theatre

2007, Edinburgh – Edinburgh Playhouse

2008, Windsor – Windsor Theatre

2008, New York City, Broadway – American Airlines Theatre, Cort Theatre, Helen Hayes Theatre

2008, Melbourne – The Playhouse Theatre

2008, Aachen – Grenzlandttheater, first performance in German

2008, Tel Aviv – Habima Theatre, in Hebrew

2008, Hong Kong – Lyric Theatre, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

2008, Mexico City – Ramiro Jiménez Theatre

2008, Athens – Knossos Theatre ,Greek adaptation

2008, Madrid – Maravillas Theatre, in Spanish

2009, Sydney – Glenn Street Theatre

2009, Brisbane – Twelfth Night Theatre

2009, South Korea – Sejong Arts Center

2009, Wellington – Circa Theatre

2009, La Jolla – La Jolla Playhouse (beginning of US tour)

2009, Seattle – Seattle Repertory Theater

2010, Houston – Alley Theatre

2010, Gananoque, Ontario – The Thousand Islands Playhouse (Canadian Premiere)

2010, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Teatro Piccadilly

2010, Ceder City, Utah, USA – Utah Shakespearean Festival

2010, Orlando, Florida, USA — Orlando Shakespeare Theater

2010, Ft. Worth, Texas, USA – Stage West Theater

2010, Denver, Colorado, USA – Denver Center Theater Company

2010, São Paulo,Brazil – Teatro Frei Caneca

2010, Dayton, Ohio – Human Race Theatre Company

2010, Cumming, Georgia – West Forsyth High School

2010, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – City Theatre

2010, Austin, Texas, USA – Austin Playhouse

2010, Syracuse, New York – Syracuse Stage

2010, Minneapolis, Minnesota – Guthrie Theater

2010, Westport, New York – Depot Theatre

2010, Bowness-on-Winderemere, Cumbria – Old Laundry Theatre

2010, Vertigo Theatre, Calgary, Alberta

2011, Plymouth, New Hampshire – Plymouth Regional High School

2011, Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Milwaukee Repertory Theater Company

2011, Makati City, Philippines-Greenbelt,Ayala Center
2011, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina – Arts Center of Coastal Carolina
2011, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA – Walnut Street Theater
2011, Gainesville, Florida, USA – Hippodrome State Theatre
2011, Nashville, Tennessee, USA – Tennessee Repertory Theatre (Tennessee Performing Arts Center)
2011, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, AUS- Jetty Memorial Theatre Seacrest Productions
2011, Aberdeen – Aberdeen Arts Centre
2011, Memphis, Tennessee – Playhouse on the Square
2011, Titchfield, Hampshire, England – St Margaret’s Arts Centre, Titchfield Festival Theatre
2011, Saugatuck, MI – Mason Street Warehouse (www.masonstreetwarehouse.org)
2011, Abingdon, VA – Barter Theatre, Barter Theatre Stage II
2011, Port Hope, Ontario, Canada – Capitol Theatre (Port Hope)
2011, Charlottesville, Virginia – Culbreth Theater, Heritage Theater Festival
2012, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin – Oconomowoc Arts Center