The Thirty-Nine Steps

My Theatre Arts class went on a field trip to see a play called "The 39 Steps" yesterday. It was originally an Alfred Hitchcock film, but was adapted to play form and made into a comedy.

The whole play is a spy story, and quite dramatic (5 deaths total), yet incredibly funny. Lots of slapstick and wit.

But the best part? The play contains something like 50 characters, and only 4 actors are in the play. Crazy, I know! And incredibly difficult. One actor plays the main character, Richard Hannay, and another actress plays the 3 female roles. The two men left over play the rest of the characters, both male and female. It was interesting to see them switch roles, sometimes in midscene!

It was doubly awesome, of course, because I had an excused absence from most of my classes. Huzzah!

PLOT SUMMARY: Set in the 20s or 40s (I can't remember which, I suspect the 20s), the play follows a man named Richard Hannay through an insane and oft-hilarious journey to uncover the truth about "The 39 Steps" after the mysterious spy Annabella Shmidt is killed in his flat. On the run (being wanted for murder), Hannay picks up two more lady friends, gets shot, peeks into a party, becomes a finger puppet, and listens to an incredibly detailed story from Mr. Memory. Not necessarily in that order.

If your local theatre puts on this play, I recommend you attend. It was lovely. :)