A Byre Theatre Production


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Signed/Audio Described Performances - Thursday 31st August, 8pm & Saturday 2nd September, 2.30pm

The 39 Steps

Adapted by Patrick Barlow from an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon.

A comedy thriller for all ages! John Buchan's classic tale of mystery and intrigue - memorably filmed by Alfred Hitchcock - is brought to the stage in this fast and funny adaptation by Nobby Dimon and Simon Corble.

Richard Hannay becomes embroiled in a plot to steal military secrets. He finds himself on the run; falsely accused of murder while also pursuing the dastardly web of spies alluded to in the title. A thrilling whodunit which takes you on a cross-country chase in a chaotic world where no one is ever what they seem!

After show talkabout - The 39 Steps, Monday 28th August.

Time(s) of Production: Evenings: 8pm; Saturday Matinees: (19th & 26th August & 2nd September) 2.30pm

Location of Production: AB Paterson Auditorium

Signed/Audio Described Performances - Thursday 31st August, 8pm & Saturday 2nd September, 2.30pm

Production Biogs

Graham Crammond - Clown
	Graham, originally from Kirriemuir, trained at Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh.
	His theatre credits include: The Memorandum, Communicado; The Tempest and A Midsummer Night´s Dream, Nottingham Playhouse; The Big Friendly Giant, Comic Potential, Wurzel Gummidge, Byre Theatre; Dissent, 7:84 Theatre Company; The Magic Flute, Blue Tiger Theatre; Sleeping Beauty and Wizard of Oz, Dundee Rep; Bouncers, Live Wire. Graham has also appeared in numerous pantomimes across the UK as far north as Inverness and south to Hereford.
	Graham´s television credits include: Taggart, Monarch of the Glen, Sword of Honour, Murder Rooms, High Road, The Baldy Man, Rab C Nesbitt, Bloodlines, Reconstruction and Frontline Scotland. He has also featured in the films The House of Mirth with Gillian Anderson and Robert Duvall´s A Shot at Glory.

Peter Kelly - Clown
	Peter has worked extensively in theatre throughout the U.K. and internationally. He is probably best remembered in Scotland for his performance as the Jimmy Boyle-based character in Tom McGrath's The Hardman and his one-man show I Am A Cabaret as well as seasons at the Citizens' Theatre, The Royal Lyceum and The Traverse.
	He spent two years with The Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company at Stratford, London and New York. His West-End appearances include: Master Class, Old Vic & Wyndham's; Brothers Karamazov, Fortune; Crime & Punishment, Lyric; Chips With Everything, Vaudeville; Coriolanus, The Possessed and The Government Inspector, Almeida. He toured Japan, Korea and Israel with the Shared Experience company in The Tempest and was Malvolio in a production of Twelfth Night which toured Shanghai, Beijing, Salisbury and Edinburgh.
	He appeared in the films: The Tall Guy, Welcome to Sarajevo, Surviving Picasso and The Virgin Soldiers. He was on the box last year in the BBC's The Taming Of The Shrew and other TV appearances include: A Touch Of Frost, Vanity Fair, Eastenders, Poirot, Minder and, like every other Scottish actor, Taggart. He was Macbeth on Radio Three and The Devil in Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale. Although based in Glasgow, Peter has an apartment on the coast of Italy, south of Rome, and has worked there in film and theatre.
	He was at The Byre last year in Rapture Theatre's production of Damages. Peter is looking forward to being booed and hissed as Abanazer in Aladdin at the King's Theatre in Glasgow this winter.

Hugh Parker - Richard Hannay
	From 1991 to 1993 Hugh studied English Literature and Theatre Studies at Charles Keene College, Leicester. At the same time he was submitting scripts to BBC Radio and Television and entered the Young Writer´s programme through the Royal Court. After performing at The Little Theatre in Leicester and then graduating from college, Hugh attended RADA between 1993 and 1996.
	Hugh has co-written with Chris Teear, Mark Roper and Bruce McGregor. His collaboration with Bruce produced sketches for BBC shows such as Bruiser and The Fast Show. Hugh has performed with the RSC in the world-touring production of Adrian Noble´s A Midsummer Night´s Dream and recently appeared at The Royal Albert Hall as part of The Cream of British Comedy. This was in support of the Teenage Cancer Charity Trust.
	Hugh´s television credits include: Jonathan Creek, The Peter Principle, I´m Alan Partridge, Beast, Drs & Nurses, Wild West, Casualty, Eastenders, Monarch of the Glen, People Like Us, The Office, Broken News, The World According to Bex, Two Pints of Lager ( All BBC TV), Black Books, Vincent and Lucky Jim. For BBC Radio: In The End and Absolute Power.
	Hugh thanks Martin Ledwith, Mark Webb and all at The Pidlington Players for their continued support.

Gail Watson - Annabella/Pamela/Margaret
	Gail was born and bred in Bonnyrigg, a small town south of Edinburgh. She graduated from Queen Margaret College in 1995.
	Gail´s theatre credits include: Memorandum, Communicado; Sleeping Beauty, Yellow on the Broom, Communicating Doors and Oliver!, Perth Rep Theatre; Gypsy, Dangerous Liaisons, Wizard of Oz and Sleeping Beauty, Dundee Rep; Dead Funny, Borderline Theatre; The Odd Couple, Byre Theatre and Tour; Experience Woman Gives Advice, The Anatomist, Three Sisters, Stranger Came Ashore and Dead Funny, Royal Lyceum; Jack and the Beanstalk and Sleeping Beauty, Eden Court, Inverness; Beauty and the Beast, MacRoberts Art Centre; Mill on the Floss, Nottingham Playhouse and Exeter Northcott; Peter Pan, Edinburgh Kings Theatre; Mother Goose, Glasgow Kings Theatre; Flouers 'o'Edinburgh, Present Laughter, Mr Bolfry, Long Days Journey Into Night and One For The Road, Pitlochry seasons 1996 & 2000; Peter Pan, TAG Theatre Co; Sleeping Beauty, Adam Smith, Kirkcaldy.
	Gail´s TV credits include: Still Game, Comedy Unit; Terri McIntyre, Crowdie and Cream and Me and My Family, BBC; Ice Hole, BBC999; she has also appeared in Taggart twice; and The Near Room, Independent Film directed by David Hayman.
	Gail has presented Hop, Skip and Jump for BBC radio for 10 years as well as various poetry readings and radio plays.

Reviews

St Andrews Citizen, John Paul Breslin

39 Steps Has Ways Of Making You Laugh. Espionage often calls for the use of double agents, however, Patrick Barlow´s adaptation of The 39 Steps at the Byre Theatre required its actors to not only double their roles but triple, quadruple and quintuple their performances. The story follows Richard Hannay as he relies on his good old fashioned British pluck to overcome the adversities of reporting a secret message, which is a matter of national safety. The play makes use of only four actors to fill the multiple roles depicted in John Buchan´s novel and actors Graham Crammond and Peter Kelly are required to play more than eight characters each as they portray the varied villains, heroes and fools within the adventure. If the speed and chaos of these changeovers is not funny enough the delivery by the two actors, whose parts are apply described as 'clown's', is enough to have tears of laughter rolling down the face of members of the audience. The protean pair quickly switch from role to role, imitating characters such as cheeky Glaswegian paperboys, shady spies, camp salesmen, highland hoteliers, incompetent pilots and dithering politicians to name a few. Gail Watson also has her fair share of costume changes as she moves from playing the sultry Russian agent Annabella to the unsatisfied shepherd´s wife, Margaret, and finishing as the protagonist´s love interest, Pamela. Watson performs well in all roles, but is perhaps at her best playing the breathlessly paranoid Annabella during the earlier scenes of the play. Hugh Parker plays the part of the central character Richard Hannay alone. However, this singular role is a necessity of the plot rather than a reflection of the actor´s ability. Parker carries off his part as the dashingly double-crossed Hannay excellently and his interaction and dialogue with Watson´s characters is quick almost to the point of telepathy, which shows the length the performers have gone to learn their parts inside out. The set of the play is truly distinctive, decorated with a montage of comic-strip depictions of various scenes from the story and backed by a large screen, which projects different landmark locations from the novel, including the Forth Road Bridge and Big Ben. Pulleys, sliding floors and suspended scenery enable the set to change appearance in the blink of an eye without the presence of black-out stagehands on set, which helps to maintain the element of fantasy and avoid breaking the audience´s submersion in the story. Barlow´s comical adaptation is a play that should cater for people of all ages due to its good mix of adventure, romance and humour. The comedy of the performance flits between slightly more 'traditional' humour, apparent in British sitcoms of the sixties, and age-bridgingly ridiculous fun with its use of barmy props, some of which are truly ingenious and often make use of the highly versatile set. This production has ways of making you laugh.

18/08/2006