The 39 Steps Performances
Wednesday 2nd to Saturday 5th November 2022 at CryerArts, High Street, Carshalton SM5 3BB.
Box Office
Adult: £14.00 / Concessions: £13.00 (plus booking fee) on Wednesday, Thursday, & Saturday Matinee
Adult: £15.00 / Concessions: £14.00 (plus booking fee) on Friday & Saturday Evening
Synopsis
The 39 Steps is a parody based on the 1935 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, (which is in turn very loosely based on the 1915 adventure novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan). It concerns a Canadian civilian in London, Richard Hannay, who becomes caught up in preventing an organisation of spies called “The 39 Steps” from stealing British military secrets. After being mistakenly accused of the murder of a counter-espionage agent, Hannay goes on the run to Scotland and becomes tangled up with an attractive woman (or two) while hoping to stop the spy ring and clear his name.
The play’s concept calls for the entirety of the 1935 adventure film The 39 Steps to be performed with a cast of only four. One actor plays the hero, Richard Hannay, an actress (or sometimes actor) plays the three women with whom he has romantic entanglements, and two other actors play every other character in the show: heroes, villains, men, women, children and even the occasional inanimate object. This often requires lightning-fast quick-changes and occasionally for them to play multiple characters at once. Thus, the film’s serious spy story is played mainly for laughs, and the script is full of allusions to (and puns on the titles of) other Alfred Hitchcock films, including Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Psycho, Vertigo and North by Northwest.
Artistic Team
Director – Paul Hudson
Characters
| Role | Description |
|---|---|
| Richard Hannay | Described in the play as 40ish, attractive with a pencil moustache. He is the protagonist. Only actor to stay the same character throughout the play. Charming, sophisticated, and falls in love at the drop of a hat. Not easily shaken, and able to adapt easily to any situation. |
| Annabella Schmidt/Pamela/Margaret | Three romantic leads all played by the same person. She needs to have different accents (German, Upper Class English, Scottish). Playing age 20-40. Annabella is a German Secret Agent. No-nonsense and very serious, though automatically drawn to Hannay. Pamela is an upper class woman who is also serious, able to stand up to Hannay, with a stiff upper lip. Margaret is a down-trodden Scottish woman who wishes to escape the country life and hopes Hannay can help. |
| Clown 1 & Clown 2 | Two actors who play ALL the other roles. Able to swap characters, male and female, at the drop of a hat (literally). These actors will be very busy, with quick changes both in costume, and in mannerisms per character. |
| Clown 1 Roles | Clown 2 Roles |
|---|---|
| Mr Memory Agent 1 Mrs Higgins Salesman 1 Paperboy PC1 Crofter Pilot 1 Mrs Jordan Chief Inspector Dunwoody Heavy 1 Mrs. McGarrigle Highland Cow Nanny | Compere Agent 2 Milkman Salesman 2 Policeman Porter PC2 Pilot 2 Prof Jordan Sheriff McQuarrie Heavy 2 Mr. McGarrigle Albright Baby |
Audition Pieces
| Role | Audition Pieces |
|---|---|
| Richard Hannay | Act 1, Scene 1. Act 2, Scene 21 pg 68, and pg 69 |
| Annabella Schmidt/ Pamela/ Margaret | As we need to see all three characters there are three audition pieces: Annabella: Act 1, Sc 3 pg16 to top of 19 Margaret: Act 1, Sc 13 pg41,42 Pamela: Act 2, Sc 29 pg 92-95 |
| Clown 1 & Clown 2 | Audition Pieces: Act 1, Sc2 Act1, Sc8 |
Please be aware that there is not a requirement to learn the parts off by heart. More important are energy, character, and interpretation.