ON STAGE
What: The 39 Steps
Where: Roxy Theatre, 2657 Quadra St.
When: Oct. 22 through Nov. 3
Tickets: $25-$47 in person at the Roxy Theatre or by phone at 250-382-3370
What made director Alfred Hitchcock such an impressive auteur was his dedication to the perfect shot. An expert eye for contrast and light made the British suspense master one of the greatest directors in film history, with some of the most iconic images in Hollywood history on his resumé — from the shower scene in Psycho to the staircase descent in Vertigo.
None of that is part of Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre’s upcoming production of The 39 Steps, a comedic spoof on the 1915 novel by John Buchan on which Hitchcock based his famous film adaptation in 1935. But that doesn’t mean his extra-large presence won’t be felt when Blue Bridge opens its 2019-20 season on Oct. 22 at the Roxy Theatre.
“That’s the art of the piece — trying to keep it moving like a film,” said Jacob Richmond, who is directing. “We’re running it like a screenplay and trying to use the vocabulary of cinema, with a billion and one stage sound cues.”
Though overseeing the confluence of drama, comedy, slapstick and suspense is challenging for Richmond, the weight carried by actors Gabriel Macdonald, Amanda Lisman, Christopher Mackie and Rod Peter Jr. has been equally enormous — the four cast members play 83 characters in 30 locations.
But the beauty of one of Broadway’s longest-running comedies is that the counter-espionage story at the core of the Tony Award-winning piece is played explicitly for laughs. Even a mishap can be resolved through comedic improvisation.
“Technically, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Richmond said. “It’s a tricky one. It’s super fun, but my voice is hoarse from trying to figure out all the different scenarios.”
Backstage crews don’t have it any easier, said Richmond, who is using two stage managers where one would normally suffice. “Crazy-making” is how Richmond describes the task facing crew members Hans Saefkow (sets), Jacqueline Gilchrist (costumes), Rebekah Johnson (lights) and Alex Wlasenko (sound).
“Fights on top of trains, airplane chases, car chases — it’s pretty crazy,” Richmond said. “We’ve been having a blast trying to do it.”
How does an actor go from fighting on a train to jumping off a bridge in a single scene? Playing several characters at once helps, but the actors must undergo multiple costume changes within seconds of one scene ending and another scene starting, all while having conversations with themselves as different characters.
“Somebody is playing a paper boy at the same time they are playing on old lady and a police officer,” Richmond said. “They will be drenched by sweat by the end of it. The Roxy Theatre is freezing, so that tells you how hard they are working.”
The 39 Steps has been a massive hit wherever it has been staged, Richmond said.
Playwright Patrick Barlow’s 2005 adaptation honours the original Hitchcock film, which is a large part of the appeal. It also references other films in the Hitchcock canon, from The Birds to North By Northwest.
The decision was made early in the Blue Bridge production to keep it on “the right side of real,” which Hitchcock would have appreciated, Richmond said.
“It’s funnier if you play it for laughs, but keep the dramatic stakes. The story is kind of insane — they will be fighting on top of a train in a theatre — but it has a thriller aspect to it. It’s hilarious trying to see the actors deliver their lines when they are faced with such insanity.”
