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KATS

The KATS web site is at www.kats.org.uk. Facebook. Twitter: @katsorguk

Last production

Where

Upper Bucklebury Memorial Hall, RG7 6QH.

Box Office

www.ticketsource.co.uk/katsorguk.

Review of The 39 Steps

31st July to 2nd August 2025

Review from the Newbury Weekly News.

Cracking comedy from KATS

Hilarious adaptation of Hitchcock's 1930s blockbuster

The 39 Steps, performed by KATS in Bucklebury last week, added more than a touch of parody to John Buchan’s famous spy classic.

Though the plot was arguably just as improbable as Hitchcock’s 1930s blockbuster, this adaptation by Patrick Barlow was way funnier, and KATS proved that you don’t need a budget of £36m if you have four cast members with enough talent and energy.

The play transports the audience from London to Scotland and back in the company of Richard Hannay, a “dashingly handsome” man about town who unwittingly gets caught up in a sinister plot to steal British Air Ministry secrets. David Richardson was perfectly cast as the suave gent, resisting gunshots with ample reserves of bulldog spirit and swinging from the Forth Bridge in his attempts to avoid capture and solve the mystery.

Beside him, Jenny Woolf clearly relished her three femme fatale roles, equally confident as Margaret the feisty crofter’s wife, the German seductress Annabella Schmidt and the indignant Pamela. Their scene on the stile was particularly memorable.

While Hannay and his companion sailed on majestically from one incident to the next, Jamie Ledwith and Emma Low paddled frantically to provide a supporting cast of over 20 characters – often playing multiple parts simultaneously by swapping hats. The result was hilarious. Jamie’s clowning and brilliant timing brought the house down (it’s hard to list his comic influences but Robin Williams and Julie Walters were definitely in there) and Emma perfected a fine range of facial expressions (the evil professor was priceless).

There were too many scene changes to mention, with trains and cars popping up instantly and the most versatile doors and window frames we’ve seen. Props and costume changes were expertly managed by Pam Hicks, Janet Kilgallon-Brook and Joe Rollinson, sound and lighting cues were perfect, and there was even a tasty interval supper.

Congratulations to director John Hicks and production assistant Karen Richardson for a brilliant evening.

KATS are pausing for breath next week before staging Everybody’s Talking about Shakespeare at the end of August. Don’t miss it!

MARK & JENNY LILLYCROP

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