Thirty –Nine Steps At the Gladstone.The production delivers on all fronts despite some technical problems.

Secret agents, wily villains, a dapper hero and beautiful love interests. Seventhirty Productions’ staging of The 39 Steps, itself an adaptation of an Alfred Hitchcock movie, promises much in the way of comedy and adventure. Luckily for the John P. Kelly production it delivers on all fronts, despite a few fairly noticeable technical problems.

The play, based on Alfred Hitchock’s 1935 movie which was itself based on a novel by the Canadian John Buchan, follows Richard Hannay, a British ex-pat upon his return from Canada who suddenly finds himself thrown in the middle of a spy game by a preposterously-accented foreign spy. The play stays true to the movie version, but is ingeniously reshaped into a farce of the both the genre and the process of putting on a play. The show is incredibly witty, fast-paced and presents a myriad of characters for the audience to enjoy and keep up with.

Did I mention that the cast of 150-some parts is played by 4 actors? Al Connors, playing a dapper, ironic Hannay, is the only actor to portray a single role, while Kate Smith plays the three female roles – the sensual Anabella Schmidt, beautifully argumentative Pamela and a shy Scottish housewife that Hannay has a brief affair with.

As humorous and quick as Connors and Smith are, the show is stolen by Zach Counsil and Richard Gélinas, the two “clowns” who play every other character, switching clothes, hats, accents and even gender in seconds with uproarious results. From their first appearance as Mr. Memory, the man who remembers countless facts, and his assistant, to various roles as the police and owners of a Scottish hotel, they both rise up to their extremely demanding roles. To say they did them justice would be an understatement.

Adding difficulty to the actors’ jobs are the minimal sets and props. Most of the humour comes from low-budget theatricality- the actors mime, make the sound effects and amuse the audience based solely on their facial and emotional reactions. It’s a risky endeavor and one that could expose any lack of talent in the cast. The show moves so fast that a missed beat from any of the actors could have thrown off entire scenes. Luckily, the actors were really well-equipped to handle the challenges, much to the audience’s delight.

The staging was generally a strong point in the production. The threadbare set was used to great effect and, for the most part, the transitions from scenes were smooth. The seizure-inducing strobe lights in the rather long opening scene, however, could have been avoided. Likewise, some of the tricks were used a time too many. A blind not shutting over a window is funny the first time, but repetitions grow tedious.

Overall, the show is a hilarious, zany take on Hitchcock’s movie, greatly aided by a strong cast. It plays for laughs and delivers them in buckets. A great play for both those well acquainted with theatre and those just looking for a relaxing evening full of jokes.

Maja Stefanowska

Ottawa, September 8, 2011