Thirty-Nine Steps

Last evening, ellefurtle and I met up with belle_fille1982 and mrtonylee to see the London production of The 39 Steps at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus.

The evening started with an early exit from work, a stroll through the park and a couple of pints and some food in the Captain’s Cabin, which is nicely situated near Piccadilly Circus, but hidden away just enough to ensure that comparatively few tourists swamp it. Once we were all fed and watered and we had had time to be suitably impressed with Tony’s iPad (just kidding; we might have to buy one: it was great), we made our way to the theatre.

I have never been to the Criterion before and hadn’t appreciated that it is underground (a quick look in Wikipedia confirms that this caused some problems in the late 19th century until electric lighting came along – special arrangements had to be made for ventilation to prevent the audience from being asphyxiated by gas lighting!). It is a marvellous little theatre, though people are clearly now much taller on average than when it was laid out. Furtle managed by folding her legs under the seat. I didn’t. It was awkward and uncomfortable having about three inches more thigh than space to put them in.

A friendly woman usher (can we say usherette these days?) took pity and showed us into a couple of unoccupied boxes. This was a mixed blessing. Anyone who has watched Dangerous Liaisons or any similar movie involving social climbing will know that boxes are not meant to make watching the production easier, they are laid out so you can spy on the riff raff down in the stalls and other boxes (tip: for anonymity always pick the circle; no-one can see you). This meant that whilst we got the circulation back in our legs, we lost sight of half the stage unless we leant over the balustrade and craned.

Nonetheless, we could see enough – I think we missed a couple of visual gags, but we saw most of what we needed.

If you have ever seen The Woman in Black you will get an idea of just how much can be done by an enthusiastic cast, good lighting and sound effects and well-timed choreography. Four actors played around 130 different (some of them simultaneously) parts and shifted their own scenery and props. We even got a cameo appearance from Alfred Hitchcock in silhouette. A splendid, funny performance and well done. Well worth the £15, though paying a little more to sit in the stalls might be better if we go to that theatre again. Depending upon the leg room, of course.

Highly recommended.

Thirty-Nine Steps

Last evening, ellefurtle and I met up with belle_fille1982 and mrtonylee to see the London production of The 39 Steps at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus.

The evening started with an early exit from work, a stroll through the park and a couple of pints and some food in the Captain’s Cabin, which is nicely situated near Piccadilly Circus, but hidden away just enough to ensure that comparatively few tourists swamp it. Once we were all fed and watered and we had had time to be suitably impressed with Tony’s iPad (just kidding; we might have to buy one: it was great), we made our way to the theatre.

I have never been to the Criterion before and hadn’t appreciated that it is underground (a quick look in Wikipedia confirms that this caused some problems in the late 19th century until electric lighting came along – special arrangements had to be made for ventilation to prevent the audience from being asphyxiated by gas lighting!). It is a marvellous little theatre, though people are clearly now much taller on average than when it was laid out. Furtle managed by folding her legs under the seat. I didn’t. It was awkward and uncomfortable having about three inches more thigh than space to put them in.

A friendly woman usher (can we say usherette these days?) took pity and showed us into a couple of unoccupied boxes. This was a mixed blessing. Anyone who has watched Dangerous Liaisons or any similar movie involving social climbing will know that boxes are not meant to make watching the production easier, they are laid out so you can spy on the riff raff down in the stalls and other boxes (tip: for anonymity always pick the circle; no-one can see you). This meant that whilst we got the circulation back in our legs, we lost sight of half the stage unless we leant over the balustrade and craned.

Nonetheless, we could see enough – I think we missed a couple of visual gags, but we saw most of what we needed.

If you have ever seen The Woman in Black you will get an idea of just how much can be done by an enthusiastic cast, good lighting and sound effects and well-timed choreography. Four actors played around 130 different (some of them simultaneously) parts and shifted their own scenery and props. We even got a cameo appearance from Alfred Hitchcock in silhouette. A splendid, funny performance and well done. Well worth the £15, though paying a little more to sit in the stalls might be better if we go to that theatre again. Depending upon the leg room, of course.

Highly recommended.