The 39 Steps

This nostalgic jaunt of a show never fails to amuse with its witty antics, clever physicality and great Patrick Barlow script. Richard Ede is every inch the Buchan hero, all harris tweed, pipe and colonial despair. Charlotte Peters is chameleon-like in most of the other female roles, most as Tony Bell and Gary Mackay, billed as men, pick up some of the female roles. It’s pretty much the full film version but who cares as it romps along at such a pace that you really do not care. Simplicity rules here, the pure magic of invention and skilled theatre craft dispensing with the need for complex sets, and whizz-bang technology.

Theatre Royal Brighton, 8 April 2013

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