WEST End hit The 39 Steps has returned to The Theatre Royal in Bath as the fast-paced, laugh-out-loud comedy celebrates its tenth year.

Based on Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film of the same name and adapted by Patrick Barlow, the play is riotously funny and moves at the speed of a bullet.

The production bends the rules of traditional theatrical conventions with its use of props and sets to create a completely unique and explosive night of entertainment.

The 39 Steps follows dashing hero Richard Hannay (played by Richard Ede) – an ordinary man with a stiff upper lip who winds up inadvertently involved in the world of international espionage.

Hannay begins the play sitting about in his armchair mulling over his boredom with existence, but before long is leaping from bridges and running along the tops of speeding trains.

The story, however, is almost by the by; what really resonates in this play is its action and its refusal to play by the rules.

Doors are moved across the stage and entered multiple times, the cast lurch back and forward to emulate the motion of a train, and actors rigorously shake their clothing when a window is opened to mimic the effect of wind.

Though Richard Ede and Olivia Greene (who plays the three women in Hannay’s life) give stellar performances, some of the most hilarious parts of the show come from Andrew Hodges and Rob Witcomb.

The pair, Man 1 and Man 2, play every other role in the production, and sometimes multiple roles at the same time.

It is startling the speed and effectiveness with which they quickly change from men to women, Englishmen to Scots, and train passengers to policemen. Though exhausting roles to play, Hodges and Witcomb never let up in their energy.  

The 39 Steps is a truly funny play and an astonishingly innovative piece of theatre - and well worth a watch.

John Buchan’s The Thirty Nine Steps was famously adapted for the screen by Alfred Hitchcock in what is widely regarded as one of the best films from his early period.

The stage production references a number of the legendary scenes from this 1935 classic movie thriller of the same name, including the chase on the Flying Scotsman train, the escape on the Forth Road Bridge and the controversial ‘stocking and suspenders’ scene.

The 39 Steps is on now until Saturday. Tickets are on sale at the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 or www.theatreroyal.org.uk