Review: The 39 STEPS Delights Ramat-Gan at the Library Theatre

From what it looks like in the play The 39 Steps, apparently 4 actors playing dozens of characters are more than enough to create a fun evening filled with laughter, especially when it's presented at the Library (Ha'Sifriya) Theatre in Ramat Gan and directed by Mitko Bozakov.

The play which is based on John Buchan's 1915 novel and its following 1935 Alfred Hitchcock thriller film is a complete adaptation of them both as it takes the thrilling story line and adds a silly comic layer to it. The plot tells about Richard Hannay, a guy in his late 30s who due to a random visit to a theatre show finds himself swept in an international spying case and is being mistakenly accused of a murder. While trying to prove his innocence he is caught inside many strange adventures.

All four wonderful actors in this wacky production are graduates of the school which this theatre was built for, Beit Zvi School of the Performing Arts.
But as wacky as this show is it has a heart thanks to the great chemistry between Yossi Toledo and Yossi Zabari on the stage while seamlessly changing very quickly between numerous characters (police men, dancers, spies, women and many more) and by that bringing this production to a whole other level than what it could have been. Even though they also play women characters, Sivane Kretchner plays the main female roles of Annabella Schmidt, Pamela and Margaret, and does it excellently with a precise difference between the three which adds a wide diversity to the varied characters in the play despite the limited number of actors. The only actor who plays one character is Uri Shilo, the most recent Beit Zvi graduate of them all, who plays Richard Hannay with the perfect restraint required from such a character even though at times it seems as if it isn't easy for him to keep the smile off his face.

Between all the different adventures that Hannay is going through we visit many scenes that are all presented by Dafna Peretz's costumes and sets and though they might be minimal, probably to match the budget, it is absolutely what is required in such a stage and story.

Adding to these is Natan Salomon's original music which is exactly what we would expect to hear throughout a spy comedy and which fits well to what is happening on the stage despite the poor sound quality that in our digital world, which with no need for a big budget is very advanced, it's a shame it wasn't better.
It is important to mention that while the music fit very well, during the curtain call it would have been recommended to make its tempo faster given the Israeli audience's custom of clapping in unison with the beat of the playing music which led to the fact that this production didn't entirely receive the applause it deserved.

Play duration: 1 and a half hour, without an intermission.

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