written by flowerpower1986 on 13/08/2013
The 39 steps is without a doubt the least funny performance of anything that I have ever seen. I took my dad for fathers day and neither of us laughed at any point during the show. The people who wrote the script should be embarrassed. This show is clearly aimed at thick people; the kind of people who regularly wet themselves whilst watching their 'Miranda' and 'My family' boxsets. Watching people cry with laughter at visual 'gags' that included hiding behind a lamp-post was difficult to comprehend and made me kind of hate these people a little bit. The only redeeming feature of the night was the ice-cream on sale that was not only rather delicious but reasonably priced (for a theater) at £2.50 each. In conclusion; do not go to see this play unless you have a child's sense of humour, instead go to the 'book of mormon' or if you can't get tickets try 'spamalot' which I haven't seen but must be funny because its based on Monty Python and written by Eric Idle. In fact I might go see it tonight.
written by on 01/01/2013
I saw 39 steps with my GCSE drama group, before we went in we were all moaning asking why couldn't we go and see a musical or something else? However once we came out everyone was surprised at how entertaining it was! The actors did a wonderful performance! However... If your a person who isn't up for a laugh or to be a bit silly for a night it isn't for you!
written by Gordon2012 on 11/10/2012
I was hugely disappointed by the 39 Steps. While the 4 actors work hard to make the best of a terrible script, they are on a loser here. No level of acting talent could make this play a success. The performance is just not that funny and fails totally as a comedy and as a parody of the original drama. The audience around me, near the front, sat in relative silence throughout, with just the odd burst of laughter, mostly out of politeness rather than any genuine reaction. Although quite short in duration, you wouldn't want this one to last longer than the 1hr 40 mins. The play enjoys a big billing with references to historical theatre awards, a victory for marketing over substance. Don't waste your money.
written by on 08/03/2012
i saw the play as part of a school tripi myself found the storyline of the play absoulutely awfull and putting on a scottish and german accent does not look realistic. you can tell strait away that the actors try too hard and is hardly worth putting on the west end. although the acting was bad they made good use of the props on stage and were able to put on and take off props very quickly. the whole play was far too short. and the highlight of the evening was leaving. i would not reccomend this to anyone with children because it seems jst short of exsplicit material.worst play ever.
written by on 29/08/2011
I have wasted half a day of my life travelling to and watching this show. I really don't want to waste much more time on it but feel duty-bound to warn others. This show is a complete waste of time and space. It is badly written, not funny and just plain boring. However, half the audience seemed to enjoy it and it makes me wonder what other things they like watching for laughs. I would like to give this 0 stars for both overall rating and value for money, but this site insists that I give it a star.
written by Miranda67 on 28/08/2011
So dreadfully unfunny. I wanted to like this as it is a 'small' show in the West End. But it was awful from start to finish. Completely amateurish. Might have chuckled once in the first five minutes but it went downhill from there. The second half was even worse. This is billed as the funniest show in London!!!?! We stayed for the whole show as we had paid £70 for two tickets and wanted our money's worth, wished we didn't. Complete waste of time and money.
written by Nimbostratus on 21/06/2011
I have never seen anything as painfully awful as this. We left in the interval, which wasn't soon enough. I cannot believe people laughed at this moronic nonsense. I hate myself for being there at all.
written by on 17/03/2011
Compare this show to the wors`t amateur dramatic production you have ever seen.
Poor acting purile humour, a disgrace to the London theatre scene
written by on 27/02/2011
Really enjoyed the show and my mum almost wet herself laughing. Very cleverly done at times and just generally a great laugh. recommend to anyone if you like a laugh
written by on 01/12/2010
39 steps - What a waste of time and money. if i could have given it 0 stars, believe me i would have. I took a date to this show on the recommendation of a work colleague. the entire front 2 rows were full of kids which was the first warning sign, but on reflection i didnt hear the kids laugh once, they obviously have a better sense of humour than most at the theatre.
The show was so slapstick, i was cringing. it wasnt even the funny kind of slapstick that the tv show "bottom" was so good at. one actor (who played many difference parts) used the same ridiculous high pitched, overly comedic voice for every role. Whilst the fact that 4 actors played all the roles was impressive but not worth the lack of jokes and storyline.
Once reviewer commented that it was like a 6th form play-thats bang on the money. it was completely amateurish and NOT FUNNY AT ALL. i found myself trying to smile just to convince myself that i didnt pay the best part of £60 to see this drivel. My date ended up asking the barman and usher what they thought of it and even they were hesitant before realing of the official party line like it was being read from an auto-cue.
some people in the crowd were in hysterics over patheticly cheap gags, they must have been planted by the theatre to generate laughter.
Do not waste your money.
written by on 22/11/2010
I saw the 39 steps as i managed to get cheap tickets off lastminute.com for just 10 pounds! I went with my friend's daughter as we both really like the musical wicked and had seen Dianne Pilkington in it loads of times. we went to a matinee performance on Wednesday 17th November and was at first surprised by how empty the theatre was and i hoped this wasnt a reflection on the show!
well thank goodness it wasnt. i honestly havent laughed at the theatre so much in years. My friend's daughter absolutely loved the show too. we were in hysterics. Dianne was really good, as were all the cast And we BOTH enjoyed watching the very handsome hero! lol!
.
written by on 29/10/2010
Very funny, fast-paced.
Actors very enthusiastic,energetic and spoke out clearly. Little guy who played a Scot and ladies' roles very funny and the hero with the moustache is very dashing!
When I bought the tickets I thought it was a thriller. Only discovered it was a comedy when turned up at the theatre. Bought tickets for £10.99 from the internet- View London site.
Loved the ambiance in the theatre, friendly staff and ice-cream!
Hope to return.
written by on 31/08/2010
based on show of saturday 28th august 2010 .i didnt know what to ecspect as my some wanted to see the show.and being on a budget we were limited .so we got two tickets for a matinee show.
our tickets were for £12.50 and limited veiws in the upper upper circle,but this was'nt a problem ,when we got there the veiw was good and because it was a matinee and less people sitting in the upper upper circle, we were boosted to the seats in front of our row wich was row b ,we now were allowed to move to row A better seats better view and which were much more exspensive,now the show so much better than i thought it was going to be
funny, brilliant,simply a joy to see ,how four people can do so much will simply enthral you, no it does'nt have all the hollywood special effects(more cricklewood)but the cast make up for that in shear enthusiasm and the fact you can have a great show without all that, i would recommend this show to anyone who has a sense of good old fashioned humour.i would happily see this show again,it made my weekend in london as all the other shows are so exspensive.brilliant...............
written by on 11/07/2010
Very funny! Slap-stick comedy, quick paced, acting makes you believe the scenes they are in even though there is very little prop changes. They reuse many props, but it is believable. I will take my husband here and see it a second time. Also, references to Hitchcock movies are funny and enjoyable. I definitely recommend it for a light/ care-free night out. I am 24 years old btw.
written by on 25/04/2010
We got tickets from the ticket booth at Leicester Sq that afternoon at a good price. Of the four of us I was the only one who'd read the Times editor's pick that Friday which said what great fun it was. We all loved it; brilliant visual gags and a hell of a pace by the four actors who played all the parts. It affectionately sends up the original book and films. And as someone else on this site has already said not too long! My attention didn't stray for a moment and I have to say it sometimes does at West End shows...
written by on 15/04/2010
I went to 39 steps without knowing what to expect. I wikipedia the plot and was expecting a nice gangster story. Little did I know that the I woudl watch the most ingenious storytelling with great tomfoolery and cutting edge character changing. The play was F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-IC a true comedy and a superb night out. I left the theater thinking that true talent does exist and I was lucky enough to watch such a smart production and direction. Well done . It was a great night out for all . I have big to many big name performances and was not left out with 1/10 of the satisfaction I had felt from this performance.
written by on 22/03/2010
this was a great night at the theatre - really funny and well acted by the cast of just 4 people. It deserves a packed house for every performance.
written by on 26/02/2010
Just happened to see this by chance.. only to find that the day we chose was the day the understudy was performing as John Hopkins was away.. Well it was absolutely brilliant .. we cried with laughter and had a wonderful evening. would thoroughly recommend it. Great night out and not too long!!! The four actors did a great job playing numerous characters.
written by katesumer on 30/12/2009
Think Sixth Form school play and you won't go far wrong. Embarrassingly amateurish script and performances. Done at such a frenetic pace that parts of the dialogue were incomprehensible.
I love all sorts of comedy but this one left me cold. How this ever made it to a professional stage is beyond me. The best part was not returning after the interval. Shocking.
written by on 28/12/2009
39 steps was performed brilliantly, the actors really showed their depth with their spot on performances. Triggers and pauses were used very well and so were facial expressions and physical theatre. None of the actors could be faulted in any way and the line learning was impeccable. The ease in which the characters swapped rolls was very impressive. I would liked to have known that the quality was so good before i bought my tickets so i could buy for another night also. I would happily go and watch it again because the humor was side splitting and the action was fabulous. It kept the audience on the edge of their seats throughout the whole play.
Do you have a question about this product or company? Simply type it in the box below and one of our community will give you an answer
Once we've checked over your question we will put it live on the site and our strong community of experts will hopefully give you some great answers that you find useful.
We will email you when the question is on the site
As rated by our community of reviewers
Guest's Comment
Written on: 19/03/2012
I don't think one can really trust your childish simplistic opinion judging from your awful spelling. Have you ever come across the word "irony" in the dictionary, look it up, it may help you in your future.