39 Steps Analysis

The Camden County Drama Club production, of “39 Steps” took place in 1930s Great Britain. The play follows Richard Hannay throughout the play as he seeks to clear his name, upon being accused for the murder of a young spy named Annabella. During the 2 hour play, there were over 15 characters, all of which were portrayed by a total of 4 actors. The play took on an interesting twist with Clown 1 and Clown 2(Cole) in particular, as they portrayed over 5 characters each. The uproar brought to the stage by the crisp English accents of the clowns’ many characters, truly provided the emphasis needed to bring the audience into the time period. Through the combination of verbal characterization and a devoted cast, the thrill seeking audience was surely …show more content…
The set quickly shifted to a much more upbeat scene, (of course accompanied by raging theatrical music in the transition) to the London Palladium, where the Mr.Memory show was preparing to begin. Just before Mr.Memory begins, Annabella enters hastily, to find a seat directly next to Richard Hannay. During the Mr.Memory show, Annabelle realizes that she has been spotted by enemy spies, and then attempts to cause a diversion by firing a pistol, thus triggering the soundtrack of screaming people. Anabella then convinced Richard to take her back to his place to spend the night, which catapulted the play into its most significant events. That night, Annabella came out of bed to wake Richard, inform him of what exactly is taking place, and find the English professor in Scotland who has knowledge of the confidential information, all before she drops dead from being stabbed in the back by the enemy spies. Following the dramatic night, Richard finds himself on the run for being accused for the murder of …show more content…
To cap off the dramatic stand-offs between Richard and the enemy spies, Richard and Pamela encounter the spies again at the London Palladium during another Mr.Memory show. The disguised cops show up and attempt to capture Richard, failing miserably of course, only to add to the “old-timey” comedy elements of the play. While being pursued, Richard asks Mr.Memory a question, since he is supposed to know an unimaginable amount of facts, “What are the 39 Steps?”. Mr.Memory begins to answer the question, until he is shot by none other than Professor Jordanne. Richard immediately attacks the professor and they get into a quarrel, which results in the gun fire, signalling the death of Professor Jordanne and clearing Richard Hannay’s name. At the conclusion of the play, the program fast forwarded to several weeks after that night, displaying Richard and Pamela’s current lives together on Christmas as they are happily