The 39 Steps: 139 roles into 100 minutes

Posted on 28 October, 2019

What happens when a handcuff that’s integral to the storyline of a play gets snapped mid-scene?

You ad-lib, according to actress Anna Steen, who has lived through this particular situation. The handcuffs in question bind together herself and fellow The 39 Steps co-star Charles Mayer. In a humorous scene where the couple try to cross a sty while bound together, the prop snapped, making Anna “hit the deck”.

“We had to ad-lib our way out of the fact that the line is, ‘There a 20 million women on this island and I have to be chained to you’ So I was like, ‘Well, hmm, you’re not’,” laughs Anna.

It’s not only thing that’s gone hilariously awry in adventure-comedy The 39 Steps, which will open at Canberra Theatre Centre tonight, Tuesday 29 October, with performances until Saturday 2 November.

Based on Hitchcock’s classic film version of John Buchan’s 1915 novel, the story follows ‘accidental hero’ Richard Hannay as he plummets through a thrilling chase involving shadowy organisations, femme fatales and skulduggery a-plenty. But add in the fact that you’ve got four actors playing 139 roles at a breakneck pace and it’s perhaps not surprising that a wig or two might slip—and provide the audience with even more cause to laugh.

“It’s very rarely smooth the entire time,” says Anna. “With the quick changes, it’s a lot of puffing, sweating and sometimes swearing backstage because some of the changes are so fast that if you put your arm in the wrong sleeve for a second then you’re really scrambling to get on.”

Credit: Shane Reid. Image supplied.

This being Anna’s second production of The 39 Steps after a sell-out season in 2016, she says the pace and changes are now second nature. She also says it’s given her a chance to delve even deeper into the psychology of her three characters—a German spy, a “classic Hitchcock icy blonde”, and a Scottish lass.

“I’m helped out in the acting of the various characters—which is the same for all of us—by a variety of accents and also the costuming,” she explains. “I have three very different wigs and very different outfits. As soon as I put them on, I sort of slip into that character. The accent also takes you very clearly down the line.”

When I ask Anna whether she sees these three roles as archetypal for female parts and whether this limits the way she explores them, she is thoughtful, suggesting that all roles in The 39 Steps are archetypal in one way or another.

“All of the characters in this play are archetypes, I think…I think that’s the key into exploring these archetypes with any role, in any play…It’s finding the psychology of the individual, which then sort of rounds out the archetype so you’re not playing a one-note idea.”

Credit: James Hartley.

Anna also adds that the familiarity of the play the second time around has given her space to explore the characters on a deeper level.

“You find more of their eccentricities and quirks. You get surprised all the time and go, ‘I never really thought about that in that way’. Then that then opens up another avenue that you can explore. It just builds stronger relationships on stage, but it also builds stronger characters for the audiences to relate to and enjoy going on the adventure with.”

Credit: Shane Reid. Image supplied.

And enjoyment is very much the key to The 39 Steps. After all, Richard Hannay might be on a serious mission to save the world as we know it—but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t get just a little bit silly along the way.

“What we’ve been discovering on this tour is so much joy that just bubbles out of this play. It’s a very clever play. It’s a lot of fun. It’s very silly fun and it ignites the inner child within us all. There are so many big belly laughs, which is something that we don’t often get to do constantly over two hours,” says Anna.

“It’s a time to go and share fun and laughter with each other, whilst going on this madcap adventure. It’s really hearing that laughter in the audience. It’s so endearing and enriching. I think everybody, both on-stage and off, just has a really wonderful time in the theatre.”

the essentials

What: The 39 Steps
When: 29 October–2 November
Where: Canberra Theatre Centre
Tickets: canberratheatrecentre.com.au/show/the-39-steps

This editorial was created in partnership with Canberra Theatre Centre. For more information on sponsored partnerships, click here.