19 Oct 2026
Lesley Cowland is on the case investigating Company of Ten’s production of the acclaimed thriller at the Abbey Theatre.
It was a great idea for the Company of Ten to produce this play as the evenings get darker and everyone needs some light-hearted entertainment. The play is loosely based on John Buchan’s original suspense novel The 39 Steps and Hitchcock’s film version, but the adaptation by Patrick Barlow takes a somewhat anarchic turn, which puts it into a different genre altogether.
Richard Hannay, lately returned from foreign parts, unwittingly gets involved in espionage when he meets the beautiful Annabelle at the theatre. When someone takes a pot shot at her, Richard offers her shelter in his flat. From that moment on Richard becomes embroiled in a deadly race to unravel the mystery of The 39 Steps.
The set for the play was pared down to the absolute minimum which worked perfectly in the Studio. An armchair, lamp and table were enough to create Richard’s flat. Then the action moves to the Scotland-bound train, a lonely farmhouse, a grand mansion, a car and many other places all created with six boxes, a window and door frame, a few chairs, and a desk. Not only did these props work well in setting the scene, the speed with which the scenes changed was phenomenal.
Many of the set changes were efficiently choreographed into the action of the play with occasional help from the deputy stage manager. Great use was made of the whole acting space.
David Wentworth played Richard Hannay as a typical ‘Boys’ Own’ hero: handsome, tall and full of derring-do with his ‘brown eyes and elegant moustache’. He carried it off so well without making it too ridiculous.
Not an easy part to play as he is on stage all the time, not only delivering his lines, but matching them with a lot of action, some of which was very fast and needed impeccable timing. His interaction with the cast was excellent.
As three very different characters Noelle Hudson gave excellent performances. As Annabelle, the government spy, her German accent and vulnerability created a beautiful damsel in distress. Margaret, the wife of a Scottish crofter, Noelle, with another realistic accent, was kindly and gentle. Pamela, who accidently gets swept up in Richard’s escapades, was definitely angry about the situation.
Clown 1, Mandi Elliott and Clown 2, Lianne Weidmann played so many different parts it was hard to keep track. They jumped from policemen to villains, theatre performers to train travellers, farmers to hotel owners and so very many more.
Both of these actors worked incredibility hard and swopped from one character to another at such a pace. In one scene they both played three parts each just swapping hats,which, despite the speed, worked amazingly well and the audience could follow who they were. Not only did they act, but they seamlessly moved a lot of the props around.
Congratulations to all four actors, their speed, agility and stamina was amazing, plus remembering their lines and actions. They worked extremely well together, had clearly rehearsed diligently and bonded as a team.
The technical team played a large part in this play too. Plenty of light changes, smoke and a variety of vehicle noises all well synced with the fast-moving action.
Even the initial warning about mobile phones was charmingly made and set the tone for the whole play. The swapping of costumes were essential to creating the different characters played by Clowns 1 & 2 even down to changing hats!
David Bailey, the director, has done a superb job with this script, which at first sight could have been daunting. He certainly has fulfilled his response to the team who wondered how all the effects were going to be achieved ‘by summoning a mixture of manic panic, excessive bursts of energy and absolute theatrical delusion’. I do hope that he is proud of his production, which was well staged, perfectly performed and truly entertaining.
This adaptation may not be to the liking of John Buchan purists, but to the audience on Friday night it got a great response as I am sure will be the case for the rest of the run. The 39 Steps was a joy to watch, fast paced, well directed, heroically performed and great fun. Those lucky people who have already got their tickets are in for a wonderful evening, sadly if you haven’t booked it is sold out.
