This stage version of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film is a hilarious spoof in which the Wick Theatre Company play with the meticulous precision required by the piece.
The adaptation is character-driven but its construction calls for imaginative and inventive direction from Tony Brownings. The call is answered well and truly with clever visual jokes, scene changes and a well-drilled cast. However the set would benefit from being better lit – often faces are lost in gloom as actors move from front of stage.
Using a bare stage, a few props and the odd item of furniture, together with numerous costume changes, a cast of four enact the adventures of Richard Hannay as he gets drawn into a web of intrigue, espionage and murder.
Guy Steddon makes a fine Hannay – with jutting chin and stiff upper lip – but also adds a touch of mild lechery.
Sophie Lane succeeds in contrasting the roles of Pamela, an English rose, German Annabella and Scottish Margaret.
Mark Best and Phil Brown supply the multitude of other roles and do so magnificently, with changes of costume and character taking place instantly.
The show is a feast of comic acting and silliness at its best.
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