The 39 Steps

Patrick Barlow (adapter). From the novel by John Buchan and the film by Alfred Hitchcock

Bolton Octagon, by arrangement with Fiery angel Ltd; Concord Theatricals Ltd.

Bolton Octagon

April 16-May 10, 2025; 2hrs 30mins

Gulp! Mateo Oxley as a worried Richard Hannay in Bolton's The 39 Steps. All pics: Alistair Muir

Early on in this particular production of The 39 Steps a character, the Memory Man - played with aplomb by Phil Yarrow - is asked a question... Who won the FA cup final in 1926? After a long pause, he replies. Cue great applause from the audience.

Why? It's because we're at Bolton Octagon, and the answer is Bolton Wanderers (one-nil, in case you're wondering; and better still, they beat Manchester CIty, and it's a just a few days to the 99th anniversary, on April 26).

Which says almost all you need to know about this latest Octagon production; the theatre knows what the audience wants: entertainment rooted in the community.

Director Ryan McBride and his four-strong cast produce a show that has the audience in the collective palm of their hand. And never mind 39; there must be at least 60 characters runnng around. The actors will lose pounds during the run as they move effortlessly from spy to Scottish farmer to Germanic villain (boo hiss, as the book was written in 1915).

There are occasional moments of calm, but these are pure theatre. You want scenes set in a train? No sweat. A W1 flat with a bloodstained corpse dying, at length? Easy. A Scottish castle with appropriate music? No problem.

Mateo Oxley, as the heroic figure of Richard Hannay, dominates the action. With his pencil moustache and colonial can-do attitude, he exudes both calm and action at the same time. Cleverly, the director has ensured he doesn't overplay the fun but remains a real person. He may be oversexed, but this doesn't prevent him from being a gentleman.

The other cast members are a little overshadowed by the central drama, but Mei Mei MacLeod, in

the scenes where she plays actual people, demonstrates an ability to be either vamp or chaste -

despite herself - farmer's wife. Phil Yarrow and Danielle Bird show the how the modern actor needs to be

able not only to act but also to be a versatile acrobat, comic or mime. Quite a portfolio of skills.

If you want a play that moves at the pace of a pre-war Bugatti, has memorable, creative theatrical action and a talented small team of actors and a happy ending, this might be your sort of show.

More info and tickets here