The 39 Steps - UK tour / Trafalgar Theatre

By coincidence, this evening’s performance marked 11 years exactly on from my first and only trip to see The 39 Steps at the West End’s Criterion Theatre. More than a decade on and this charming madcap show is still going, this time as a national tour.

If I’m honest, the second time around didn’t quite live up to the memory. Perhaps it’s not as effective in a theatre more than double the size of the Criterion. Maybe it was that this cast just didn’t seem as sharp with their comedy beats as the OG. It might just be as simple as it was this company’s opening performance and the chemistry will come.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still an enjoyable evening. The multi-rolling by the tight cast of four and the subsequent quick changes remain hugely impressive. Some of the scenes are just as funny as they always were. But something just didn’t quite click for me tonight.

At its heart, The 39 Steps is a fast-paced comedy caper about a classic English gent getting caught up in pre-war spy drama. But it is possible that in the decade since I last saw it, other shows have just moved the genre on to new levels. I’m thinking Operation Mincemeat as an obvious example but even The Play That Goes Wrong and Police Cops have taken physical stage comedies to new highs.

Look, it’s still jolly good fun. Maybe in a smaller theatre with a slightly better suited cast I could love it as much as I did first time around. But, for now, it remains a pretty good night at the theatre.

Three stars.

Another uninspiring West End announcement.

I remember seeing this at the Criterion too, thought it was brilliant, but don't feel I need to see it again. (But then I rarely revisit productions.) From what I remember the better you know the Hitchcock film of The 39 Steps, the more you get out of this, as there are many references to scenes in the film.

When I saw Operation Mincemeat at the weekend, parts of it did slightly remind me of this.

Definitely worth going if you haven't seen it before.

I think this will very much depend on the casting for me. I saw it in Liverpool when the West End version toured and didn’t think much of it. Then another version toured to a local theatre that was produced by the Stephen Joseph Theatre and played in the round and I thought that was hilarious.

I hadn't noticed they had changed the gender of one of the "clowns" so thanks for pointing it out. The lady in the role Maddie Price looks as if she has an excellent comedy acting background and has done one woman shows so looks to have been well cast. Safeena Ladha in the "main" female role has played multiple characters in a recent play too. So both look perfect choices for the play.

Definitely worth seeing if you want a fun night out and enjoy clever quick changes.

The parts have been distributed between the two actors so that the female characters - the charwoman, Mrs Jordan, Mrs McGonigle - are still being played by a man so that comedy is preserved. I actually found the change of casting made very little difference to the overall feel of the piece, less that I expected it to. (I saw the tour earlier this month, having seen the show 8 times previously with the 2 men casting.)