The 39 Steps

The original novel, The 39 Steps, was full of murder, mystery and intrigue and those aspects were emphasised in Alfred Hitchcock’s film, but the play has germinated into a comedy/thriller, with the emphasis on the comedy. That was particularly so in this production – the audience did not stress out over the numerous murders but rather almost laughed themselves to death.

For a production of this type to succeed, the timing has to be spot on with the cast and crew in an adaptable set. Director Kurt A. Lurps has achieved this. He has indicated that he first wanted to direct this some years ago but the wait has been worthwhile to gather this group of four performers on stage tonight. Dale Shearman as Richard Hannay was very good in the major role of the returned Englishman who becomes the centre of all the mayhem and murder. Oh, he was the only performer with one role and it was the key stabilising part of the story.

June Tretheway was Annabella, Margaret and Pamela, who ranged from spy to love interest. Her performance was marred a little early through lack of clarity. Erik de Wit and Peter Wright played so many roles that I lost count but they did them with great timing and clarity so that the audience followed the play line easily. Erik de Wit had the most challenging changes, which could have been helped with more clarity in a couple of cases. These four performers  worked  so very  well together under a director who obviously had a clear image of the overall production. It worked.

This is the first time I have seen the crew participate in the curtain call with the cast but they deserved to do so as the pace and timing depended as much on them as it did on the actual cast. Congratulation to Mousetrap and director Kurt A. Lurps

William Davies

Photographer: Col Tretheway