Tessa Churchard and Robert Portal
in The 39 Steps
|
Robert Portal has returned to the West End production of The 39 Steps. Portal, who returned to the comedy as central character Richard Hannay on February 2, joins current cast members Tessa Churchard, Alan Perrin and Nigel Betts in performances at the Criterion Theatre.
Portal first played Hannay from April to October in 2007. His other stage credits include The Deep Blue Sea, Calico, Noises Off, The Rivals, Henry IV, The Transit Of Venus, The Merchant Of Venice, Love's Labour's Lost, The Country Wife, The Venetian Twins, A Christmas Carol, The Invention Of Love, Ajax, Cain and Venus Observed. He's been seen on television in The Amazing Mrs Pritchard, Surviving Disaster, Rosemary And Thyme, Pharaoh And The Great Belzoni, The Queen's Sister, Distant Shores, The Thick Of It, Clocking Off, The Queen's Lover, Bye Bye Baby, The Armando Ianucci Show, The Merchant Of Venice, Julia Jekyll And Harriet Hyde and The Painted Lady.
Based on the classic Alfred Hitchcock film and novel by John Buchan, The 39 Steps is the story of Richard Hannay, who is lured into a world of intrigue by a mysterious woman claiming to be a spy. When she winds up dead in his flat, he flees London with the police hot on his trail. Patrick Barlow's script features a cast of four actors who, against all odds, breathlessly and hilariously reenact all of the characters, locations and famous scenes in Hitchcock’s thriller with just a few props and a lot of theatrical ingenuity and split second quick changes.
The 39 Steps has designs by Peter McKintosh, lighting design is by Ian Scott, sound design by Mic Pool and movement by Toby Sedgwick.