North by Northwest

North by Northwest
Adapted from Ernest Lehman’s film script by Carolyn Burns. Directed by Simon Phillips. State Theatre Arts Centre Melbourne. Jan 29 - Feb 13, 2016.

Premiering last year with MTC, this production of the iconic 1959 Hitchcock film took Melbourne by storm, though I missed it. I can only assume that something has been lost in the transference to the much larger State Theatre.

The set (by Simon Phillips and Nick Schlieper) is amazing, a high tech piece of art;  the opening full of promise; the original music of the great Bernard Hermann is spine-tingling, the ensemble cast is especially good. And yet, at least on its opening night, the production didn’t fire the way that it should have; and felt flat in many areas. Perhaps the fault lies in the cavernous State Theatre itself, but some performances felt too small for what is, after all, a spoof on an iconic film.

When Hitchock’s 39 Steps was re-imagined for a cast of only 4, it was cleverly “improvised”, wonderfully silly and laugh-out-loud funny in it’s cheesiness. Last night’s performance was neither ‘bad’ enough to be funny, nor ‘good’ enough to be brilliant. It felt, to me, undercooked, with a lack of conviction…too much attention to the mechanics, not enough to the human element. While 39 Steps worked brilliantly as a farce, it seems that this re-imagining is still working out exactly what it is.

Matt Day is a terrific actor I have admired in many roles, but his Roger Thornhill is naturalistic and, as such, lacks the charisma of Cary Grant (not a criticism….NO-ONE has the charisma of Grant). He simply doesn’t have the right dynamic to drive the story, and so his Thornhill seems more passive, a victim rather than pushing the through-line forward. Since this stage adaptation doesn’t have the benefit of ECUs (Extreme Close Up), though it could easily do so for reaction shots, this subtle spoof might require larger than life performances (without becoming caricatures or Burlesque) to fill a large stage and compensate for the hugeness of film.

Amber McMahon is excellent as Eve Kendall, the Eva Marie Saint role in the film. She understands the genre and the period. However, writer Burns has made her less innocent and naïve than the original, more of a femme fatale, and it simply doesn’t work as well, and negates a lot of comic possibilities. It also means losing such campery as the phallic train going into the long dark tunnel. The rest of the cast do well with what they have to work with. Lehman’s original script, in terms of dialogue rather than storytelling, was certainly not the highlight of the film, and Burns has been respectful but has neither improved upon it, nor played it for comic effect.

Tony Llewellyn-Jones is the sole member to bring exactly the right note and performance level to 1950s story-telling, but then he’s impressive in everything he does. Gina Reilly could afford to broaden her playing of Roger’s mother, but at least she finds what laughs are there to be had. Nicholas Bell has a marvellous moment as the Master of Suspense himself, but is largely wasted, as is Ian Bliss, another highly experienced actor. The ensemble are to be applauded for creating totally believable characters in tiny vignettes. Phillips has wisely used actors who are great performers in their own right, like Sheridan Harbridge and Lyall Brooks; and Leon Cain, Lucas Stubbard and Lachlan Woods all have moments, even as “extras” to make an impression. The special effects and blue screen aren’t “off the wall” enough to make a huge impression (Oh dear, the plane chase sequence! It wasn’t amusing and had overtones of Kabuki theatre), so they bring neither laughter nor applause.

North By Northwest is entertaining, but misses the opportunity to stamp its own authority on something new and refreshing. It’s wonderful to see anything new on-stage here, but one might be tempted to ask “Why?” and settle for a DVD of the original instead.

Coral Drouyn

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