Recreating Hitchcock's special effects on stage is no mean feat, particularly when it involves numerous action sequences, fast-moving steam trains, a thrilling car chase and even a plane crash.
Then add about 139 roles played by just four actors in 100 minutes.
But it's all in a day's work for award-winning writer Patrick Barlow, whose adaptation of John Buchan's The 39 Steps arrives in Windsor this week.
The classic thriller, which was turned into a successful film in 1935 by Alfred Hitchcock, revolves around Canadian Richard Hannay, who meets a woman named Annabella Smith, a spy on the run from assassins. He agrees to hide her in his flat, but later that night she is murdered.
Fearing he could be accused of the crime, Hannay goes on the run to prove his innocence. But will he find the real culprits before the police find him?
Patrick, who also created the National Theatre of Brent and is known as an actor in Jam & Jerusalem, The Diary of Bridget Jones, Notting Hill and Shakespeare In Love, says his adaptation "captures the essence of Hitchcock's film".
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The 61-year-old, who worked alongside director Maria Aitken, explains: "Although it's based on Buchan's book, I thought the movie is the thing that people know, so why don't we try and recreate the actual scenes from the film on stage? Of course, then we came across a challenge on every page, particularly when it came to the set design.
"I could have asked for something really lavish, with a full-scale steam train and Scottish highlands and gothic houses, but in the end we felt it might be more vivid to have less.
"For example, we recreate the London Palladium with just a few boxes! We've used the barest things possible with the set, to see how inventive we could be with the lighting and sound. It's all about the atmosphere you create, which I think is one of the most important things about the film."
"We’ve used the barest things possible with the set, to see how inventive we could be with the lighting and sound. It’s all about the atmosphere you create."
Patrick Barlow
So where the stage might at times appear minimalist, Patrick says the sounds, lighting and special effects really come to the fore to "crank up the atmosphere".
But what about using just four actors for the numerous roles involved in the plot?
Patrick laughs in reply: "Well, yes, that's hard for the actors, but that was the point. I think the harder it is, the more challenging it becomes, which hopefully they will all appreciate as actors."
He adds: "Where else would they get the opportunity to run out on stage as an old lady, come off and then go back minutes later as an underworld villain?
"But we did go over and over the script to make sure it wasn't ludicrous. We wanted this to be as believable as possible."
Since its premiere in London two years ago, the show has won rave reviews as well as an Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. The 39 Steps has also recently opened on Broadway.
"I've been completely surprised by the show's success, " Patrick tells me. "I thought at the time it opened that it's not a bad little play, it might do all right, but now it's travelled to 25 countries and still going strong. As a writer, I couldn't ask for more."
The 39 Steps arrives at Theatre Royal Windsor from Monday, March 31 to Saturday, April 5. Details: 01753 853888
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