Students of the University of West Georgia Theatre Company face a true learning challenge as they rehearse for Patrick Barlow’s comedy-thriller, “The 39 Steps.” Set in 1930s London and Scotland, it calls for a very small cast to take on more than 130 different roles. UWG’s version features only six student actors who play multiple characters throughout.
The production runs from Sept. 24-29 at the Townsend Center Black Box and is the first play of the 2024-2025 Friends and Family Season.
Audiences may be familiar with Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film version of “The 39 Steps,” based on John Buchan’s 1915 novel, a traditional espionage man-on-the-run thriller. In the 2005 stage adaptation, English playwright Patrick Barlow not only reduces the number of actors but also incorporates “clowns” to play all of the supporting characters, creating a genre-bending farcical comedy.
Director and UWG Professor of Theatre Shelly Elman explained Barlow’s comedic devices.
“Pantomimes, or musical-comedy parodies with gags and slapstick, were popular in Great Britain, and still are, in terms of live entertainment, and clowns like the Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers were popular in the U.S. and, from what I can tell from research, they were popular in the UK as well,” Elman said. “Whereas the film is classic Hitchcockian suspense with a little humor mixed in, the play is a physical slapstick farce with mystery woven in. I hope the audience can expect to laugh and enjoy the romp!”
The audience can also look for allusions to Hitchcock and his film in Barlow’s version.
Since “The 39 Steps” calls for slapstick and multiple roles, the six student actors warm up both physically and vocally. Playing characters who speak in standard English, Cockney, Scottish, and German dialects, they work with a vocal coach to master the various accents.
Such unique preparation gives UWG theatre students valuable experience for future endeavors in the acting field.
“They must develop three-dimensional characters who are different from each other,” she described. “Whether they are switching characters or playing one throughout, this work prepares them for a professional career because that’s what is done in that world. The idea of switching characters immediately means that the actors have to be agile and open to adapting.”
Backstage, student designers must also rehearse.
“Once we get the scenery, lighting, sound media and costumes, we’ll focus on the many scene and costume changes that are in this play,” Elman continued. “It’s very cinematic in that it has a lot of different locations.”
Students must put in significant time and effort to complete and implement their designs before opening night. They have help from staff alumni who serve as set and costume designers, training students in all aspects of production.
UWG Theatre Company invites campus and community to see the full-fledged result of UWG students’ talents and hard work, which culminates in a valuable learning experience for them—and a delightful, laugh-out-loud comedy with a Hitchcockian mystery and love story thrown in. Tickets are now available at the Townsend Center Box Office.
