27 – 31 May

It is difficult not to like Emma Rice’s adaption of the Hitchcock movie, being so full of wit and invention. There is no fourth wall and the narrator – ‘and others’ – is a diminutive and ebullient Professor (Katy Owen) who weaves her way through the play. At one moment she might be acting as a kind of ‘Buttons’ character, jollying the audience along and at others with a hat here and a coat there filling in the gaps in casting (I quickly lost count of the number of minor characters played by the cast). The production, with help from the Professor, rushes along like an animated storyboard.

One of the numerous joys of an Emma Rice production is the fearlessness and audacity that proclaims nothing is impossible on stage if the audience’s imagination is engaged. Thus anyone who goes to the theatre wondering how she will conquer the famous cornfield episode will hoot with laughter at how simple the answer is. It is a joy that goes beyond the mere delight in a story well told and delves into the tap-roots of collective imagination and recognition.

The humour is physical and endemic to the Rice style of theatre, which goes back to her Kneehigh days. Along with Ms.Rice’s freshly minted invention there are echoes and borrowings. The chase and indeed plot has hints of The 39 Steps and anyone who remembers The Singing Detective will recognise the tendency for characters to unaccountably break into song by miming to an old record. Throw in a quote from Walter Scott’s Marmion and whatever theatrical bricolage that serves and the mix is irresistible. The characters all dance at the drop of a hat or walk with an eccentric colubrine swivel, which gives a cartoon-like feel to sections, which nonetheless remain a respectful poke at the thriller genre.

Ewan Wardrop is the bemused and put-upon Roger Thornhill, suitably suave and dapper in a tailored grey suit as he goes through the wrong revolving door as it were and finds himself in the strange, clandestine world of Cold War intrigue. Patrycja Kujowska is the colourful vamp, Eve Kendall who is rarely what she seems yet manages to steal the heart of Thornhill somewhere along the byzantine plot.

The production is a coming together of the talents and set, lighting and sound all have a significant contribution together with the multifarious artistry of the accomplished cast.

The sheer entertainment value does come at a small cost in that jeopardy and tension, staples of the thriller genre, take a back seat. But as a member of the audience said, ‘If you want tension see the film’.

As an outstanding benchmark for what theatre is capable of in adapting from another medium this would take some beating.

★★★★☆ Graham Wyles, 28 May 2025

Photography credit:  Steve Tanner