Comedy thriller The 39 Steps is the Christmas offering at the Liverpool Playhouse

Dec 3 2009 Chester Chronicle

It is based on a famous novel, became a classic Alfred Hitchcock movie and has been turned into a number of successful TV series.

Now The 39 Steps has been transformed into a breathtaking stage production which is the Christmas treat for audiences at the Playhouse Theatre in Liverpool this year.

The comedy thriller has been hilariously recreated by Patrick Barlow as the smash hit Olivier Award Winner for Best New Comedy.

It runs from tonight until Saturday, January 16 at the Liverpool Playhouse.

The show follows the incredible adventures of handsome hero Richard Hannay, complete with stiff-upper-lip, British gung-ho and pencil moustache, as he encounters dastardly murders, double-crossing secret agents, and, of course, devastatingly beautiful women.

Director Maria Aitken’s production contains every single legendary scene from the award-winning 1935 classic Hitchcock movie thriller – including the chase on the Flying Scotsman, the escape on the Forth Bridge, the first theatrical bi-plane crash ever staged and the sensational death-defying finale in the London Palladium.

This wonderfully inventive and gripping comedy thriller, originally a novel by John Buchan, features four fearless actors, playing 139 roles in 100 minutes of fast-paced fun and thrilling action.

The cast for this production are Dugald Bruce-Lockhart, as dashing hero Hannay, and Katherine Kingsley as his glamorous but reluctant accomplice Pamela.

Meanwhile Dan Starkey and Richard Braine are the men charged with the task of portraying the majority of the 139 roles in this fast-paced caper.

If you purchase a Tuesday or Saturday matinée ticket from the Playhouse for a performance before Christmas, for an extra fee you can enjoy afternoon tea at the Adelphi hotel at a reduced rate – meaning you too can enjoy the lifestyle of a 1930s lady and gent for less.

So its chocks away this Christmas for a jolly good time, as we witness Hannay trying to escape the long arm of the law, and the mysterious men tracking him down, as he searches for the truth behind The 39 Steps.

For booking information, ring the box office on 0151 709 3789 or visit www.everymanplayhouse.com.