Review: Silliness and slapstick make 39 Steps at Octagon a fun night out
If you go along expecting a tense thriller along the lines of the classic Hitchcock movie you're going to be sorely disappointed and more than a little confused.
For this adaptation of John Buchan's novel by Patrick Barlow is an unashamedly silly romp full of cracking visual gags and a cast of four who work their socks off.
For anyone with a knowledge of the original, the story is pretty much the same. The suave Richard Hannay shelters a mystery woman who is murdered at his flat but not before putting him on the trail of a gang of spies out to steal vital British secrets.
The cast of The 39 Steps (Picture: Alastair Muir)From there on it's a helter-skelter chase which is part slapstick and part farce as our hero, wanted for a murder he didn't commit, tries to expose the fiendish plot.
It does take a little while to get going and in the second half the pace dropped slightly for a time but when the cast were firing on all cylinders it was a joy to behold.
Mateo Oxley was suitably dashing as Richard Hannay and had a good line in knowing looks to the audience when the absurdity kicked in. Mei Mei MacLeod, playing a spy, a crofter's wife and Hannay's ultimate love interest Pamela, was pulled off all three roles with aplomb.
But it was the the comedy pairing of Danielle Bird and Phil Yarrow who were the real stars of the show. Playing everything from hapless policemen - more Keystone Cops than Scotland Yard - to eccentric hoteliers who wouldn't have been out of place in The League of Gentlemen, they stole every scene.
Phil Yarrow and Danielle Bird in The 39 Steps (Picture: Alastair Muir)Operating at a frenetic pace their comic timing was superb and really the key to the play's success. There were some wonderfully observed comedy moments reminiscent of the silent films and an aerial scene that was pure Wallace and Gromit.
A word too for the impressive staging.
Embrace the silliness, admire the comic timing and you're going to have a fun night out.
Until Saturday, May 10. Details from www.octagonbolton.co.uk
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