Written by Patrick Barlow and directed by Jane McKenna, we presented The 39 Steps in the Sherborne Studio Theatre in June 2025. A parody, adapted from the 1915 novel by John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock, it is riotous blend of multiple roles, inventive stagecraft, shadow puppetry and physical theatre.
Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have this hilarious fast-paced whodunit with 40 roles played by the cast of four. The main protagonist, Richard Hannay, leads a boring life until he meets a woman with a thick accent who says she's a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organisation called "The 39 Steps" is hot on his trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale.
Gary Brooks (Clown 2)
Hazel Perrett (Annabella Schmidt, Pamela Edwards, Margaret McTyte)
Jeremy Small (Richard Hannay)
Freddie Wopat (Clown 1)
