Funny Hitchcock?

I knew that The 39 Steps was going to be a comedy, but I could not understand how they were going to pull it off. I am a huge Alfred Hitchcock fan and am familiar with his dark, suspenseful style. Was this show going to focus on dark humour? How would they include every scene in the film, including a scene in which a man escapes from a train? How could 4 actors play over 10 characters? All of my questions were answered with one simple explanation. What makes the show work as well as makes it funny is the show’s focus on the transition from film to stage. The show addresses the differences between the two mediums and makes fun of it. For example, while the main character, Richard Hannay, hides out in a farm in Scotland, the night is supposed to be windy. To create the illusion of wind, one actress, playing the wife of the farmer, billows her skirt and waves her hair with her hand. This illusion of wind is purposely transparent. We know that she is creating her own “wind” and the writers of the show as well as the actors know that we know. It’s funny because we are all in on the joke. Another example that is perhaps my favourite is when Richard Hannay, who is running from the police, must climb out a window. He literally holds the window frame and proceeds to lift the frame over his head and drop it over his body so he can go through. While a film can have many expensive sets and can more easily create the illusion of reality, a play cannot. Instead of seeing this as a weakness The 39 Steps uses it for a laugh, and a good one at that. The actors completely commit to this illusion of reality no matter how absurd. At one point one actor has two different outfits on at once, one on the left side of his body and one of the right. He simply turns either side of his body towards the audience so they know what character he is portraying at any given moment. In one scene, the two characters that the one actor is portraying have a dialogue, causing the actor to rapidly switch from side to side changing voices according to character. He is, in effect, talking to himself. Because the play only has four actors, it has to make due. However, instead of just making the limitations work, the show makes the limitations work for it. Although it was nothing like any Hitchcock film I have ever seen, I loved this show.

by Hannah Franklin