The 39 Steps at the Theatre Royal Brighton

Step into trouble

Four actors play 139 roles in comedy thriller The 39 Steps at the Theatre Royal Brighton
Direct from the West End, Broadway and 25 countries around the globe, comes the spy thriller The 39 Steps. Hailed as ‘a joyous version of the Alfred Hitchcock classic’ by a national newspaper, The 39 Steps is brilliantly and hilariously recreated as the smash hit Olivier Award Winning Best New Comedy. The 39 Steps visits Theatre Royal Brighton for a week long run from Monday 8 – Saturday 13 April.

This blissfully funny show follows the incredible adventures of handsome hero Richard Hannay, complete with stiff-upper-lip, British gung-ho and pencil moustache as he encounters dastardly murders, double-crossing secret agents, and, of course, devastatingly beautiful women. This inventive and gripping comedy thriller features four fearless actors playing 139 roles in 100 minutes of fast-paced
fun and thrilling action.

The production is based on John Buchan’s 1914 spy thriller The Thirty Nine Steps, and adapted for the stage by Patrick Barlow
(The National Theatre of Brent).

Asked about his approach to adapting the Hitchcock classic, Barlow commented:
“I was particularly interested in giving Hannay a real psychological journey to go on, to mirror the adventure story. In my version, Hannay starts as a man isolated, really lost in despair, without the ability to love or even feel and then he makes a chance life-affirming decision.

To go to a West End show! And lo and behold – everything changes! He meets three women and they save him. As women tend to. He finds his heart. And saves the country into the bargain.”

The 39 Steps is directed by Maria Aitken, with design by Peter McKintosh, lighting by Ian Scott, sound by Mic Pool and movement by Toby Sedgwick. It is presented by Edward Snape for Fiery Angel and Tricycle London Productions with the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

The 39 Steps has won numerous awards. In addition to the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, the play was named Best Comedy by Whatonstage.com. Other award successes include two Tony Awards for Best Lighting and Best Sound Design, two Drama Desk Awards for Unique Theatrical Experience and Outstanding Lighting and the Molière award for Best Comedy.

The 39 Steps,
Theatre Royal Brighton, Monday 8–Saturday 13 April, eves 7.45pm, Thursday & Saturday matinees 2.30pm
Book online at www.atgtickets.com/brighton*
or call 0844 871 7650*
*Subject to booking fee