‘The 39 Steps’ Is Equal Parts Hilarious And Impressive

A Hitchcockian farce that moves at a hundred laughs a minute, The 39 Steps is an utterly hysterical and sincerely impressive theatrical parody. Across 100 minutes and 130 different characters, a wickedly talented troupe of actors commit wholeheartedly to sensational comedic performances that constantly find new ways to amuse and astound their audience in equal measure.

Richard Hannay (Ian Stenlake) is at the theatre when he hears gunshots go off, and soon finds himself in the company of international spy Annabella Schmidt (Lisa McCune). After she’s murdered as part of a conspiracy to leak secrets about something called ‘The 39 Steps’, it’s up to Hannay to finish her mission and protect the United Kingdom from a serious intelligence leak.

On his journey, Hannay encounters a wide variety of quirky characters; supposed police inspectors (Umbilical Brothers David Collins and Shane Dundas), an isolated farmer’s wife (also McCune), an elderly couple running a hotel (also Collins and Dundas) and many more on this sprawling comedy adventure where Hanny may also even find love in the seemingly unwitting Pamela (again, McCune).

Part of what makes The 39 Steps such a riot is the wide range of characters that this small cast plays. Ian Stenlake shines as the perpetually confused, increasingly rugged-looking Hannay the whole time, and is the only performer in the show to play one character. Nonetheless, his penchant for physical comedy and reacting to plot points in amusing ways is instrumental to a good chunk of the show’s success.

Four actors, 130 characters and 100 minutes of hilarity

The rest of the 129 or so characters are portrayed by the other three actors Lisa McCune, David Collins and Shane Dundas (and a couple of audience members), though with an uneven distribution. McCune plays three main characters: Annabella, the farmer’s wife Margaret and the cynical Pamela, all of whom feel distinct from one another in accent, visuals and styles of comedy.

However, the casting of the Umbilical Brothers in this show was simply a stroke of genius. Though some are much more significant than others, David Collins and Shane Dundas must play about 100 characters between them and consistently deliver some of the show’s biggest laughs. Though anyone familiar with their work doesn’t need proof, this show more than proves that the Umbies are fantastically talented actors with incredible comedic timing, no matter what they appear in.

And The 39 Steps really is hilarious. As it mocks and reveres noir in equal measure throughout, it provides a consistent stream of laughter as each actor rapidly switches character and surfs ever-shifting sets into newly funny territory. It’s often quite meta too, acknowledging its status as a play and parody through some remarkably clever hatwork, dashing about the set and various musical hijinks.

The secrets of The 39 Steps‘ success

A huge chunk of the show’s comedic success can be attributed to director Damien Ryan, who has clearly worked closely with his actors to create a practically airtight show. This production of The 39 Steps, including James Browne’s set and costumes, is also presented entirely in greyscale to honour the era it takes place in and the Hitchcock film it’s based on.

While I was initially sceptical of this aesthetic decision, it inevitably won me over. It makes The 39 Steps feel distinct from your average theatre show, and there are some visually impressive sequences that fully embrace the noir aesthetic of its source material. It also means that, when colour is used for comedic effect, it hits that much harder.

Simply put, it all comes together to make The 39 Steps a splendid, ridiculously funny night at the theatre. Thanks to a wickedly talented cast and some truly stellar creative decisions on display throughout, it’s an uproarious parody of 1930s era noir flicks that’s bound to be remembered for having one of the most absurdly high laughs-to-minute ratios of any piece of theatre shown in Sydney this year.