Edward Snape for Fiery Angel Ltd and Andrew Kay and Liza McLean for Kay & McLean Productions Pty Ltd present

THE 39 STEPS

Direct from triumphant seasons in the West End and Broadway, a brilliant new adaptation of the classic spy thriller The 39 Steps returns to Australia in 2011 with an all-Australian cast.

The play, which is based on Hitchcock's famous 1935 film of the novel by John Buchan, has been inventively, and hilariously, recreated for the stage by the UK's Patrick Barlow (playwright) and Maria Aitken (director). It has been a hit since premiering in London last year, winning an Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. The Broadway season has garnered six Tony Award® nominations, including Best Play and Best Direction of a Play.

The epic tale of The 39 Steps follows the incredible adventures of Richard Hannay, an all-action hero with a stiff upper lip and a miraculous habit of getting himself out of sticky situations. Hannay is a recurring character in Buchan's thrillers and was modelled on a heroic young army officer the author met during WW1. That officer later became Field-Marshall Lord Ironside of Archangel.

The play revolves around an innocent man (Hannay) who learns too much about a dangerous spy ring. He witnesses a murder before being pursued across Scotland, after which he returns to London to foil the villain's dastardly plans.

The 139 roles in The 39 Steps are performed incredibly by just four actors, who certainly earn their money in an evening of fast-paced fun and thrilling action, with staging that
conjures up trains, bi-planes, the world-famous Forth Railway Bridge and the London Palladium.