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Review: North by Northwest (Alexandra Palace Theatre / UK tour)

Review by Sam Waite

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

As technology, filming styles and acting techniques change, classic films can fall into the trap of becoming unintentionally funny. Indeed, older thrillers like Hitchcock’s North by Northwest can be easily skewered thanks to the exaggeration needed to sell the twists, and the now-stock characters the story is filled with. Perhaps it’s only reasonable that “the classic thriller on stage,” as adapted and directed by Emma Rice, would lean sharply into comedy, while paying tribute to the ever-winding nature of the original film.

 


Now narrated by the enigmatic Professor, this North by Northwest retains the fateful mix-up which sets the story in motion. Ad executive Roger Thornhill waves down a staff member at a hotel bar, hoping to send an urgent telegraph and correct a lapse in memory which would render a previous message undeliverable. What Thornhill doesn’t realise is that this same member of staff has been calling for a Mr George Kaplan, who two covert operatives are planning to abduct the moment he makes himself known. From there Thornhill enters into a world of intrigue and espionage, falling in love and into a convoluted plot of mistaken identities and double-crossing comrades.

 

While Ewan Wardrop, as Roger Thornhill, is the only actor to play only one role amongst the small cast, the real star of the show is quickly revealed to be Rob Howell’s thrilling set. Made up of a series of oversized revolving doors, each housing a fully-stocked bar, Howell’s stage allows for the characters to be in continual motion, and for the ever-shifting nature of the show’s loyalties and character’s identities to be given a smooth visual representation. Alongside Howell’s solid period wardrobe, this allows for the production to easily establish a clear visual identity, matched nicely by a mix of original music and 50’s songs courtesy of sound designer Simon Baker.

 


The cast throw themselves headfirst into their array of roles, turning on a dime and giving each new character a clear persona. Wardrop has a monumental task, taking on the role played by the legendary Cary Grant in Hitchcock’s original, and trikes an amiable presence onstage, being easy to root for from the opening sequence. With Hitchcock’s camera work being impossible to emulate, he does unfortunately lose much of the subtlety of the role, but as much as the character becomes a default handsome man on the run, Wardrop’s energy never flags. In comedy, the straight-man can often seem the most thankless part, but Wardrop is more than willing to give his all to the part, to a good amount of success.

 

With the remainder of the cast jumping between different roles, the one who makes the most impression is The Professor, brought to maniacal life by Katy Owen. Owen puts an astounding enthusiasm into the character, bouncing off of the audience and being the actor tasked with presenting the tone of the show to a room of people who may have expected something more in line with the film’s tone. For me, the character grew irritating fairly quickly, though I recognise the blame for this can’t be placed squarely on Owen, who finds strong moments in the over-zealous Professor and also does very well in other supporting roles throughout. Indeed, the treatment of The Professor and the re-working of the character’s presence is one aspect where I found myself longing for Hitchcock’s vision of North by Northwest.


 

Credited with both direction and adaptation, Emma Rice does an admirable job of converting Ernest Lehman’s screenplay from “the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures” to a high-comedy affair. With the fourth wall repeatedly broken and the story presented as something told to us by The Professor rather than events as they are happening, Rice’s vision is so tonally distinct from Hitchcock’s that your enjoyment could hinge on your sense of puritanism. The balance between direct adaptation and loving parody leaves plenty up to interpretation, but I will say that the emphasis on comedy never quite landed for me, genuinely hilarious though many moments proved to be.

 

Undeniably strong is the work of Etta Murfitt, taking on the titles of choreographer, movement director, and intimacy coordinator. As such, it is Murfitt who is to thank for the seamless, constant movement of characters through and around those enormous revolving doors, and who is to receive credit alongside the performers for the easy chemistry between Thornhill and Patrycja Kujawska’s Eve Kendall. Murfitt is also behind several lip-synced musical numbers, which were joyous and truly enjoyable, though I did feel that their presence created the biggest disconnect between story and execution. Other exciting moments came courtesy of fight director Kev McCurdy, who managed to keep much of the momentum of the final sequence despite the impracticality of creating onstage the epic Mount Rushmore-set finale of the original.


 

Without giving away a divergent ending which seemed to shoot for a more serious, call-to-action tone than the remainder if this adaptation, I will say that North by Northwest was a crowd-pleasing if occasionally confounding experience. With the emphasis on comedy understandable if not always successful, and minor changes to the plot helping keep the story moving onstage while changes to atmosphere did leave some twists underwhelming, this adaptation didn’t quite land for me. Still, I was surrounded by appreciate, enthusiastic laughter, and even my own cold heart can’t deny that some of these moments were packed with far too much charm to be dismissed.

 

North by Northwest plays at the Alexandra Palace Theatre until June 22nd

 

 

Photos by Steve Tanner

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