39 Steps (again)

I mentioned that I had heard rumours that the 39 Steps was going to tour and could be coming to Canterbury.  After our impromptu theatre trip to see it in April and being absolutely blown away by the show Steve and I had raved about it to our friends and extolled the benefits of everyone we knew going to see it for themselves.  Imagine our delight when RV called and confirmed that it was touring and would be spending a week at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury in July.

RV coordinated, booking tickets well in advance and a group of 6 of us went along one Friday night after work.

It was one of those warm summer evenings and wandering through the streets in a floaty dress and sandals it felt like I was on holiday.  I couldn't believe that I had been sat in the office only hours previously.  We met in the foyer and looked through the programme (it helps to build the excitement) whilst Steve went in search of ice-cream.  With 5 minutes to spare we joined the queue of people chattering about the show and went to find our seats in the auditorium.

As soon as I saw the set again I started getting giggly.  It's an annoying reaction I get when I am really excited about something.  The light dimmed and the plummy tones of the voice-over introduced the show.  From then on I was in another world.

I stopped and caught myself on a number of occasions with my mouth open in wonder at what I was seeing.  It was also fantastic to hear the laughter of our friends, knowing that we had recommended something that they enjoyed.  At the interval RV was getting excited about techniques and ideas he could incorporate into Wyrd Sisters which he is currently directing.  As you tend to we spent the interval dissecting what we had seen so far and then headed back in, eager for the second act.

It was just as wonderful as I remembered, a couple of sections were not quite as slick but that's not really surprising with a touring company.  There were jokes I had forgotten and ones I was anticipating.  It was also lovely to be able to see it in my home city, with friends you can analyse the play with over a drink afterwards.  Which is exactly what we did in the pub opposite the Marlowe as the sun set over the river.