The 39 Steps Review: hysterical comedy caper is a force to be reckoned with
03 October 2026 | 19:30 | Derby Theatre (with Hull Truck Theatre)
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | PR - Invite
It's likely that at some point in your life, you will encounter The 39 Steps. Whether it be John Buchan's original 1915 thriller novel or Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film. It might even be from Patrick Barlow's revised theatre script, which ran for nine years in London's Criterion Theatre to become the fifth longest-running West End play! And this autumn, Barlow's adaptation comes to Derby Theatre in a new production, flipping the originally serious espionage into a high pace, hysterical comedy caper.
Richard Hannay is an ordinary man living in London, who has a knack for escaping tricky situations. After being wrongly accused of a mysterious murder, he must prevent an organisation of spies (The 39 Steps) from stealing British military secrets and triggering a European war. Except the police are closing in... this is far from an easy mission!
This show will land best with fans of political-wartime satire (Operation Mincemeat) and absurd comic humour (Monty Python). Four actors play a whopping 130 characters, which could easily be a disaster. But we are in very safe hands with director Cal McCrystal, famous for the National Theatre's One Man, Two Guvnors and working as Physical Comedy Consultant on major Hollywood films, gifting the production with extraordinary movement and physicality work.
From Jen McGinley's pre-show design, we get the impression that we are backstage in a theatre. The two clowns (James Keningale and Kathryn Perkins) enter and introduce themselves as actors, breaking the fourth wall. They compliment, and insult their fellow performers, celebrating fellow actress Sophie Bloor's Derby heritage promptly before taking a swipe at her questionable RADA training! Keningale follows by flexing his 'triple threat' accolades. But he can do so much more, also a quad threat, quintuple threat and a 'sex threat'! It does venture into risqué, and I encourage parents to be mindful of the 11+ guidance, featuring a few gags of a sexual nature.
Ryan Starling is everything we would look for in a leading man as Richard 'Dick' Hannay, a suave and slightly awkward gentleman that builds a great wink-nudge relationship with the audience that we trust. Sprinkled with irony, his opening scene gets some local, unique humour, as Richard speaks of his lifelong dream: to perform on a stage inside a shopping centre! And we love Derby Theatre exactly as it is!
This style of comedy always benefits from one ultra-composed performer, and Sophie Bloor's glamorous Pamela (and others) is reminiscent of Hitchcock's leading ladies, as her fellow actors try to break this poise. And they certainly succeeded tonight, with her and Starling breaking character in an intimate scene. Helped by one particular audience member, who had a rather booming laugh that made it impossible to carry on! In most plays it would be unprofessional, but these are the moments that make the evening so memorable and endearing.
Some of the biggest surprises come from the amount of audience interaction, especially along the first few rows. We were even showered with rich tea biscuits in Act One (something I personally think more shows should implement)! Another lady in the second row was forced to wrestle with a giant sheet of paper that suctioned itself to her face, you really don't know what'll happen next!
McGinley's design is exciting in its flexibility, assisted by Chris Lince's video design, to create the ultimate heist. The train scene has a charming playfulness to it, and just wait until they climb the Forth Bridge live onstage! Tom Mitchell stars as the 'Understudy', often dressed in a full black bodysuit to (quite visibly) change scenery, as he attempts to steal the limelight. Lighting and sound are purposefully poorly timed for comic effect; it pretends to be a shoddy theatre show, when in fact it is spectacularly well put together.
I very rarely find comedies that work for me, but I was crying with laughter all the way through The 39 Steps!! Even if you aren't a comedy person like myself, I thoroughly recommend giving this one a go, as Keningale and Perkins steal every scene in their multi-rolled madness. McCrystal is a directorial force to be reckoned with, and this is without a doubt one of my favourite shows of 2026!
Playing at Derby Theatre until the 17th October, then transfers to Hull Truck Theatre from the 21st October - 14th November.
