Review: The 39 Steps
Picture: Promotional image (NOT a Creative Futures Photography image)
The 39 Steps is a clever, award-winning, Monty Pythonesque parody of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film of the same name. A classic spy tale, where our dashing British hero averts disaster, saves the country, catches the bad guys, and gets the girl. Think 007, but played for laughs with a cast of four actors who bring over 100 characters to life.
First created almost 30 years ago, this popular show continues to be reimagined and staged by professional and amateur companies. This latest version of The 39 Steps, directed by Damien Ryan and starring the talented Lisa McCune, Ian Stenlake and The Umbilical Brothers (David Collins and Shane Dundas), concludes an Australian tour in Brisbane this month. This production has received some positive reviews for earlier performances in Sydney, Newcastle and Melbourne, and already has very limited availability for the final Brisbane shows. But this isn’t a show I am recommending. A great cast, lovely set and ‘black and white’ design, but this version of The 39 Steps just didn’t deliver on the promised hilarity—possibly because it would work better in a more intimate space.
There are many aspects of this latest imagining that I enjoyed. Ian Stenlake is a great choice for the role of our unsuspecting hero, Richard Hannay. Lisa McCune is a talented actor: charming as the foreign spy, highly amusing as the farmer’s wife, and fabulous as Hannay’s love interest. Casting The Umbilical Brothers is a great idea; the duo is an experienced comedy partnership, which means that Collins and Dundas are very capable of improvising and working hard to see if they can each ‘corpse’ their fellow artists. My favourite Collins/Dundas characters were their innkeeper couple, the London Palladium performers, and the Professor’s party-loving wife. All four of the actors had stage business which was memorable and well-worked—including Hannay’s ‘escape’ from under the body of the murdered spy, the wind gusts caused by the non-stopping train, and some of the ‘slow motion’ moments.
James Browne’s set and costume designs are superb, evoking the black and white movie era with style and panache. The use of the shadow projections on the screen are clever ways in which to maximise impact and minimise costs for a touring production—and there were several entertaining touches that included the ‘keyhole’ view into the hotel bedroom, the incorporation of set changes into the choreographed moves of the actors, and the lovely creations of the car and of the train carriage.
I am 50:50 on The 39 Steps’ lighting design (Matthew Marshall, Lighting Designer). Great overall lighting design, enhancing the black and white palette, but the frequent fade to black in the first half of the show did disrupt the flow, and the repeated use of strobe lighting for the ‘slow motion’ effects didn’t always make for comfortable viewing. The variety of accents was amusing, and the actors were on point for this dialogue heavy play—being ready for any opportunity to improvise and entertain with asides, but also keeping the show on the road and impressively managing the extended ‘Mr Memory’ monologue (Jennifer White, Dialogue Coach). The sound design was effective (Brady Watkins, Sound Designer), although I did find a few of the words disappeared into the background during the opening night performance.
If you have never seen The 39 Steps this might be the production for you. It’s a great piece of writing, requiring four actors to portray multiple characters, and this version has a committed cast and strong design elements. But—and it is a big ‘but’—most of this production of The 39 Steps was, for me, only mildly amusing, and didn’t inspire any of the anticipated hilarity. Which means that I didn’t find this latest version of The 39 Steps to be one I can recommend. Having seen The 39 Steps on several occasions, this is a show that works best in smaller and more intimate venues—particularly when it comes to seeing the craft of scenes such as the ‘train carriage’ chase, and in the hotel check-in, and when looking out for the interplay between the actors. Unless your budget allows for the purchase of the remaining top price tickets, I suggest you use your funds to book to see something at Brisbane’s Melt Festival, or for future QPAC shows. And keep an eye open for productions of The 39 Steps in smaller theatre spaces.
Audience information: The 39 Steps, Playhouse, QPAC, Southbank, Brisbane (7-19 October 2025). 140 minutes, including a 20-minute interval. Production recommends 12+ (suggest 14+). Production contains naked flame, haze, frequent strobe lighting, imitation cigarettes, and firing of imitation weapons. Contains sexual references, occasional coarse language, and scenes that may be triggering for some people. Tickets $55-169 plus $7.50 transaction fee.
Additional Credits: By Arrangement with Fiery Angel Limited, and Licensed by ITV Global Entertainment Limited. An original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimo, adapted by Patrick Barlow from the novel by John Buchan and movie by Alfred Hitchcock.
The reviewer attended the Tuesday 7 October performance (7pm).
A version of this review first appeared at Nothing Ever Happens in Brisbane.