THE 39 STEPS at Little Theatre

THE THIRTY-NINE STEPS Adapted by Patrick Barlow From the novel by John Buchan Directed by Mark Wickett 25 October to 3 November 2024

“Although clearly dangerous, he is quite good-looking, actually”

A whisky, two stubborn singletons bound by handcuffs, and a chase from London to the Scottish Highlands, The 39 Steps takes a Hitchcock masterpiece based on the ground-breaking spy novel by John Buchan and transforms it into a theatrical spectacle of comedy, action, romance, and fresh fish.

“On the surface, it’s a classic thriller set in the mid-1930s, when the world was again frightened of war – terrified of whatever The 39 Steps could be,” says director Mark Wickett, “yet when you look beneath that menace, the two main characters are just lonely individuals caught up in something much bigger than themselves, trying to deny their mutual attraction.”

Adapted by Patrick Barlow for the West End and Broadway, this Olivier and two-timeTony award winning play has dozens of characters – all played by a ridiculously talented cast of four – with sound effects created live by an on-stage foley artist. The play is a pastiche of Hitchcock’s 1935 film (and his other works), creating laugh-out-loud comedy from witty dialogue – often unchanged from Hitchcock’s writers – and inventive stagecraft, on a stripped-back set in the intimate surroundings of Adelaide’s Little Theatre. You'll almost feel the rush of the Flying Scotsman as it hurtles over the Forth Bridge; brace yourselves for a plane you’re convinced will crash into the front row; and swear there’s more than four people on stage.

Wickett continues: “I want to make audiences laugh, yet preserve Hitchcock’s message that despite their unfortunate ordeals, love must prevail.”

CAST Thomas Midena, Imogen Deller-Evans, Emily Branford, Maxwell Whigham and Angela Short.

CONTENT WARNING Mild violence, sexual tension, political ideology. The performance may also contain haze effects, strobe lighting, with simulations of gunshots, whisky drinking, cigarette smoking, and fish frying.