The 39 Steps
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Date Reviewed: 12/08/2025
“The 39 Steps” is a play that begins with a night at the theatre. What follows in the next 100 minutes is a frantic noir where a stellar ensemble cast of four play in excess of 130 different roles. It’s fun tomfoolery that goes at breakneck speed while drawing together romantic themes with jokes and thrilling high drama.
Alfred Hitchcock famously adapted this story into a film. The original story was a 1915 novel by John Buchan. This four-actor version was rewritten by Patrick Barlow in 2005. It’s a story that has been the basis of many adaptations on the screen, stage and the radio.
Damien Ryan directs this adaptation and the leading man is Ian Stenlake of “Sea Patrol” fame. He is the only actor that has a singular character here. He is the suave and debonair, Richard Hannay. The year is 1935 and this confirmed bachelor gets a lot more than he bargained for following a night out and a brief encounter with a femme fatale.
Lisa McCune plays three different love interests of Hannay and her accents are a bit of a mixed bag. She is the late vixen, Annabella Schmidt, of whom Henry will be accused of murdering. She also has rather funny turns as a Scottish housewife and Pamela, a very prim and proper English rose. Pamela gets swept away in Henry’s man on the run shenanigans. This comedic side to McCune is rather unexpected given her previous work on “Blue Heelers,” but does showcase what a versatile actor she is.
The remaining characters – and there are plenty – are reserved for David Collins and Shane Dundas of The Umbilical Brothers. The pair are excellent comedians when it comes to their physical performances. The two are also great at adopting different accents to distinguish the characters, at times even playing two different characters each in the same scene. While that in itself is impressive, there were moments where the jokes dragged on a tad too long and could have been tightened to pack a bigger punch.
James Browne’s set is simply stunning. The lighting and set draw on greyscale and monochromatic colours and are very appealing. These give the proceedings an old timey atmosphere, which lends it an authenticity to the era. It’s a joy to watch the cast interact with the shadows and the light, as this makes it one great spectacle.
“The 39 Steps” is not your traditional Hitchcock story insofar as this play is a comedy. It means that this has a lot more in common with “The Play That Goes Wrong” and traditional comedy slapstick, than Hitchcock’s renowned works. The gags are very physical, which do have their own charm though there were some parts where these felt a tad overdone and repetitive.
“The 39 Steps” is an entertaining show with a very accomplished ensemble cast. If you can keep up with the fast-paced mayhem and hijinks, you are in for one adventure-filled night. “The 39 Steps” is ultimately action-packed and charming in it’s thrills and spills and, in the end, this night at the theatre is simply one jolly good show.
Reviewed by Natalie Salvo.