Written by John Buchan

Based on Alfred Hitchcock's film

Adapted by Patrick Barlow

From an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon 

 

NODA Review by Frank Wooles

 

Concept lived up to their reputation of staging the unusual and doing the unexpected with their autumn tour with a stage adaptation of John Buchan’s tale of intrigue and espionage, with a cast of one hundred. All of which were played by four talented actors in a riot of characters, sinister and hilarious brilliantly and colourfully performed.

Laurence Clarke, as super-hero Richard Hannay, excelled in a smooth, almost Bond-like, performance and proved adept at gentle throwaway and one-liner humour. Listed in the programme as ‘clowns’, versatile Claire Hovey, Paul Buckle and Ellie Hoare convincingly played all the characters that Hannay encounters with clarity and often at breakneck speed. The success of the play owed much to the excellent lighting plot by Kevin Morgan, and Ellie Morgan and sound design by Laura McMahon and Nick Screen, which featured backing music compiled from Hitchcock films to great effect. In a highly imaginative and inventive production by Ruairidh MacLeod-Lyon, made great use of props and effects to create the most unlikely scenes and played at a frantic pace. The play was riveting entertainment. I haven’t laughed so much for a long time. 

 

This review appeared in the Penarth Times on Thursday 1st November 2012

 

"Thrilling fun in the '30s"

If you are a lover of good quality amateur drama, you will know that going to see a Concept Players' production is a treat that guarantees a good night's entertainment. And so it proved at the Paget Rooms when a cast of only four gave a hilarious version of the classic play, The 39 Steps.

The play started with a bored Richard Hannay (Laurence Clarke) visiting the London Palladium and watching Mr Memory (Paul Buckle) perform his feats of memory. Richard was joined by the mysterious Annabella Schmitt (Ellie Hoare), who was later stabbed to death in his rooms.

Richard went on the run heading towards Scotland, to chase up the leads that he'd been given and on the way encountered many different characters, all played by the three "clowns", Claire Hovey, Paul Buckle and Ellie Hoare.

The four actors held the stage beautifully, with the clowns changing roles by the second.

The era was unmistakably '30s with accents and mannerisms to match.

During the course of a hilarious evening the clowns changed gender, clothes, acting styles, characters and accents as they brought this marvellous play to full and exciting life.

The key points were the action scenes - the train scenes as Richard Hannay climbed along the outside of the train, the aeroplane chase using step ladders as the wings, and the car chase a mantelpiece with headlights as the car.

Inventive, creative, physical theatre at its absolute best.

The cast were ably supported by inventive sound and lighting. Well done, Laura McMahon, Nick Screen, Kevin Morgan and Ellie Morgan. Backstage timing was impeccable too, so well done the team doing all the running around backstage.

Props and set were simple but effective, a wall that turned into a bed for instance - cleverly designed and made by Director Ruairidh MacLeod-Lyon and Paul Buckle.

This small, close hard-working team of actors and production crew have once again achieved success with this amazing production, all credit to the director for his vision and for the cast and crew for delighting us with their skills and talents. Such a great night!