Very, Very Silly (The 39 Steps)

Name: AndrewPo

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Product:	The 39 Steps
Date:	09/07/08 (120 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The funniest play in the West End... Ever

Disadvantages: You might miss some of it because you are crying

I saw this play last weekend, and I haven't laughed so much in a long time. This really is an extremely amusing play. We chose this play on the recommendation of a review which claimed it to be the funniest play in the West End at the moment, which I took with the usual pinch of salt, but decided to give it a try anyway. It really is. Maybe the funniest thing in the West End ever.

I won't give away too much of of the plot, not that it would really spoil the experience. The 39 Steps, by John Buchanan was most famously directed by Alfred Hitchcock in the 1935 film, but this play, which is produced by Maria Aitken, while based on the same film (rather than the book), is an altogether different experience. With just four actors minimal scenery, and simple visual props and many characters this is an absolute masterpiece of visual humour and comic timing. This is perhaps the ultimate spoof espionage thriller. The play starts with the 37 year old hero feeling bored and looking for something exciting to do. He goes to the theatre where he meets a mysterious young lady and to cut a hysterical story short, she gets murdered in his flat after revealing some secret information and the chase begins. Most other roles are played by just two male actors, sometimes several at a time with just a quick change of hat and accent to alert you to the identity. Pythonesque female characters and outrageous overacting will keep you laughing to the end.

The 39 Steps is currently playing at the Criterion Theatre, which is in the middle of Piccadilly Circus, easy to see, with large signs outside. The theatre is a good old theatre with reasonable comfortable seats, although we had slightly restricted visibility towards the back of the stalls, but that was Ticketmaster's fault, who's description of the seats was a little misleading. The price was £26.00, which is reasonable, but ticket prices range from £10.00 to £42.50 (increasing to £12.50 to £45.00 from 13th October 2008).

The nearest tube station is Piccadilly Circus. The play starts at 8.00pm (Monday to Saturday) and 4.00pm on Saturday and 3.00pm on Tuesday and runs for 2 hours and 5 minutes including one interval.

This review is also on Ciao.co.uk

Summary: Fantastic