We are really excited to take our audience into the world of espionage, intrigue, and slapstick comedy, as they stage a new production of Patrick Barlow’s hilarious Olivier and Tony Award winning stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic 1935 spy thriller, The 39 Steps. 

Masterfully combining a gripping spy thriller with an uproarious comedy, The 39 Steps follows the upstanding gent and all-round good guy with a fine pencil moustache, Richard Hannay, as he finds himself in a bit of a pickle when he wakes up to find a mysterious woman in his apartment. Dead. Now on the run, pursued by all manners of suspicious characters, can Hannay evade capture and clear his name of murder before it’s too late? Will he fall in love along the way? And what exactly are The 39 Steps? 

With ingenious staging and four talented actors playing over 150 characters, switching roles and costumes at breakneck speed, this whirlwind physical comedy promises an unforgettable experience.  

The 39 Steps was first performed at the Leeds Playhouse on 17 June 2005. The original London production opened at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn on 10 August 2006 and transferred to the Criterion Theatre in the West End on 14 September 2006. The play premiered on Broadway at the American Airlines Theatre in 2008 and has played in many different countries across the globe, delighting over three million people worldwide with its quintessentially plucky spirit and dashing sense of fun. 

Playing over 150 – yes – over 150 roles between them, The 39 Steps cast will feature Chris Coxon (Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, Pitlochry Festival Theatre and The Wizard of Oz, Watermill Theatre); Stephanie Cremona (Cinderella and A Christmas Carol, Dundee Rep); Blythe Jandoo (Gypsy and The Maggie Wall, Pitlochry Festival Theatre) and Alexander Service (Heathers, Soho Place, West End/UK Tour/The Other Palace, London). 

Director Ben Occhipinti said: 

“Directing The 39 Steps for Pitlochry Festival Theatre audiences will be an exhilarating challenge. I can’t wait to bring this classic story to the stage with a truly exciting cast and creative team. This play is a love letter to classic cinema and the boundless creativity of the stage”

The 39 Steps runs at Pitlochry Festival Theatre from 11 July until 26 September.  

The production is supported by Katharine Liston 

Tickets and further information are available from the Box Office on 01796 484626 or online at pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com.