"I have never known such happiness from a theatrical production. This fast moving and very funny adaptation of John Buchan's classic spy thriller is very tongue in cheek and is all the better for it...simply wizard!"
Auberon Waugh, The Daily Telegraph, reviewing a tour of our original version.
It was in November 1995 when I heard that director Nobby Dimon was planning to produce a four-actor version of The 39 Steps, with his new company, North Country Theatre. Something clicked in my brain instantly – I had long been a fan of the book and the deliciously cheeky Hitchcock film, so the idea of tackling this madcap adventure with minimal resources sounded like a recipe for stupendous fun. I got on the phone immediately with:- “Please, please, Nobby, can I be your writer?"
I arrived at rehearsals in the Spring of '96, (in Richmond, North Yorks) to find the “set” waiting for us...a bunch of ladders and planks with a huge map for a backdrop. This was the inspired idea of the designer, Johnny Buck. Nobby and I had one more conversation to sketch out the scenarios, pulling in equal parts from the book, film and our imaginations; beyond that the actors started to improvise and I furiously recorded, working on the final dialogue deep into the night. Each morning I would present a finished scene for its first rehearsal. We had three weeks, from scratch to first night, at the historic Georgian Theatre, Richmond - a real seat-of-your-pants affair, but the audience adored it.
Auberon Waugh, The Daily Telegraph, reviewing a tour of our original version.
It was in November 1995 when I heard that director Nobby Dimon was planning to produce a four-actor version of The 39 Steps, with his new company, North Country Theatre. Something clicked in my brain instantly – I had long been a fan of the book and the deliciously cheeky Hitchcock film, so the idea of tackling this madcap adventure with minimal resources sounded like a recipe for stupendous fun. I got on the phone immediately with:- “Please, please, Nobby, can I be your writer?"
I arrived at rehearsals in the Spring of '96, (in Richmond, North Yorks) to find the “set” waiting for us...a bunch of ladders and planks with a huge map for a backdrop. This was the inspired idea of the designer, Johnny Buck. Nobby and I had one more conversation to sketch out the scenarios, pulling in equal parts from the book, film and our imaginations; beyond that the actors started to improvise and I furiously recorded, working on the final dialogue deep into the night. Each morning I would present a finished scene for its first rehearsal. We had three weeks, from scratch to first night, at the historic Georgian Theatre, Richmond - a real seat-of-your-pants affair, but the audience adored it.
The train to Scotland - with myself as the train guard in this second incarnation of The 39 Steps.
As Nobby was playing one of the roles (and all four actors are very busy for most of the time) I ended up being 'co-director' - as the one with the audience-eye on the play's evolution. In 1997/8, I played Nobby's roles myself, taking the play to small theatres in Manchester and London with my own company, in order to give it better exposure. Something worked, as it began a very slow progress through the UK's smaller touring companies, then regional theatres and finally onto the 'No. 1' touring circuit. West End producers began to take keen interest... I don't know how it fell to me, but there I was, sat at a large boardroom table, with some of the biggest names in theatre-land, trying to explain to them why "the milkman has to die..." (He doesn't, in the final version...but that's a price I pay for the show's commercial progression...and who can argue with a BEST NEW COMEDY award, at the Oliviers in 2007?)
But part of the show's success is this spirit of evolution, of creative invention coming from the whole team - it is how it began. I can remember a telephone converstations with an excited director explaining how they had done one chase scene, at the theatre in Southwold, Suffolk, creating a waterfall for Hannay to hide behind, by the use of two buckets. "Brilliant! I wish we'd thought of that!"
But part of the show's success is this spirit of evolution, of creative invention coming from the whole team - it is how it began. I can remember a telephone converstations with an excited director explaining how they had done one chase scene, at the theatre in Southwold, Suffolk, creating a waterfall for Hannay to hide behind, by the use of two buckets. "Brilliant! I wish we'd thought of that!"
Hannay and Pamela meet the Landlady of the lonely Inn.
(Myself as the latter, here in our 1997/8 version.)
Since Nobby and I 'signed on the dotted line', all those years ago, the granting of rights to perform has not been under our control. You need to contact Samuel French, if you are interested in staging it - as in the front of the published version, the script from the West End show, which was largely reshaped by Patrick Barlow.
However, as part of our agreement, Nobby and I did retain the rights to produce the play (i.e. our original script) ourselves at small scale venues - technically, those with under 275 seats...so there is always the possibility of us doing this as a co-production....not that we ever have - and it is subject to other stipulations, such as being outside of London and not clashing with any tour of the show...
Watch video clips of our orginal production on youtube! Filmed from the back of the stalls, at the Romiley Forum, during a live performance in January 1998 and lovingly preserved on my youtube channel. Click on the picture below which is a still photo of the curtain call, taken that same night.
However, as part of our agreement, Nobby and I did retain the rights to produce the play (i.e. our original script) ourselves at small scale venues - technically, those with under 275 seats...so there is always the possibility of us doing this as a co-production....not that we ever have - and it is subject to other stipulations, such as being outside of London and not clashing with any tour of the show...
Watch video clips of our orginal production on youtube! Filmed from the back of the stalls, at the Romiley Forum, during a live performance in January 1998 and lovingly preserved on my youtube channel. Click on the picture below which is a still photo of the curtain call, taken that same night.
