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REVIEW | The 39 Steps, Hull Truck Theatre
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If you're looking for a night out for a laugh in late October, then watching 'The 39 Steps' at Hull Truck Theatre is definitely the place to be. This parody show has it all: physical theatre, where movement and the body tell the story, physical comedy, one-liners, an impressive set and audience participation. You name it, it's in there. Think of Hitchcock's famous thriller with the suspense kept in and the silliness turned right up.
Patrick Barlow's adaptation of John Buchan's classic novel, inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's film, is a fast-paced comedy thriller. After a chance meeting with a mysterious woman called Annabella, the debonair Richard Hannay becomes entangled in a murder and finds himself the prime suspect in a deadly conspiracy. With nowhere safe to turn, he is soon on the run, and the trail leads from London all the way up to Scotland.
This adaptation is brought to life by a small company who play well over a hundred characters between them. Ryan Starling plays John Hannay, while the rest of the cast take on everyone else, switching between characters, sometimes within seconds, and mastering some seriously impressive costume changes along the way.
This is a Hull Truck Theatre and Derby Theatre co-production, directed by Cal McCrystal, whose credits include comedy direction on 'One Man, Two Guvnors' at the National Theatre. The design is by Jen McGinley, lighting by Ian Scott, video design by Chris Lince and composer and sound design by Ivan Stott.
This is a silly comedy with some very clever moments, and the parody of Hitchcock's thriller is everything that is gold about the old-fashioned comedy era: big, daft and delivered with absolute commitment. The set is slick and impressive, and it is used cleverly throughout.
From the very top of the first act, the audience gets to enjoy interaction with the actors, running gags, visual jokes and classic slapstick. I laughed a lot when James Keningale and Kathryn Perkins introduced Tom Mitchell as the Understudy and as Chief Inspector Albright. I'm not always the biggest fan of slapstick, but I still found myself laughing at the silly gags, and I enjoyed the other styles of comedy woven into the piece.
The pace of The 39 Steps is very fast, and even the longer scene changes are made interesting and comical by Mitchell, dressed in a tight-fitting, head-to-toe black suit in his 'understudy' role. The obvious mistakes, physical comedy and use of set and effects made it exciting to watch, and the first act whisks us from London all the way up to Scotland. Every inch of the auditorium and stage is used, which kept me engaged and part of the show. Even the roof of the stage comes into play, so keep your eyes peeled, though you can't miss it. I won't spoil it here.
I did find the second act took a lull in pace, particularly during Ryan Starling and Sophie Bloor's scene in the hotel. There were some brilliant and funny moments within it, but I felt it could have been slightly shorter to keep things moving along.
Ryan Starling (who plays Richard Hannay) was charming and engaging throughout, leaving me impressed with how much energy that role requires. Sophie Bloor (who plays Annabella/Pamela/Crofter's Wife) shares some of the brilliant, funny moments in that hotel scene and is captivating as her first character, Annabella.
Keningale and Perkins, both billed as Clowns, set the tone for the whole evening.
I thoroughly enjoyed Perkins' commitment to every character played. Perkins' physicality and accents for each one were hilarious, and some of them switched in a matter of seconds. They ranged from a crazy old Scottish lady to a young Scouse paper boy and lots more, and I loved every single one.
Jen McGinley's slick set and effects, Chris Lince's projections and Ivan Stott's music and sound all work so well together, almost making the play immersive, and they do a great deal of work for such a small cast.
I could feel a real sense of enjoyment throughout the audience. Everyone was laughing together and intrigued to see what the cast would do next, with a flutter of nerves too as people wondered whether the actors might pick on them next!
Overall, I felt 'The 39 Steps' was a lot of fun, full of comedy gold moments and led with real energy by Starling and a versatile, hard-working cast. For me, it could have benefited from being ever so slightly shorter to keep me fully engaged the entire time, but if you want a good laugh, I'd highly recommend it.
★★★.5
The 39 Steps is playing at Hull Truck Theatre until Saturday 14th November 2026:
