The 39 Steps

Last July we welcomed another brilliant summer play with ‘The 39 Steps’, a witty and quick-paced comedy parodying a spy thriller and Hitchcock classic. More than 40 students worked tirelessly over six weeks to create three nights of memorable and exciting entertainment, across which around 250 people came to watch.

‘The 39 Steps’ is a play originally meant for only four actors, however, our cast of 26 was able to capture the spirit of the original while still making it uniquely our own! As there were over 150 different characters to be played, everyone was very busy and had lots of multi-rolling to do. The hero of the story, Richard Hannay, was played excellently by Amaar Soomro who had the difficult task of preparing to be in almost every scene of the play.

Part of the principle of creating this play was that the students blocked most of the scenes themselves, trying to find the humour in each of them. As the cast rehearsed diligently, the crew was busy behind the scenes repainting the back of the stage from The Lion King with a fresh white coat of paint and preparing the many different costumes needed for all of the quick changes.

Everything began to feel real as the staging went up on the busy week of the play, which included two dress rehearsals, Founder’s Day, and sports day, not to mention that the heat was extreme as we nervously waited backstage, ready for our opening night.

A huge thank you to all the students who participated, the sixth form helpers, everyone who came to watch and especially to our brilliant director, Mr Millar; assistant director, Miss Jones; technical director, Mr Larkin; and all of the other members of staff who helped out. We hope you come and see our next summer play!