THEATRE REVIEW: The 39 Steps at Rotherham Civic until tonight

I USED to think there were two types of theatre, broadly speaking — the dazzling professional shows and the plucky amateur ones.

With their big budgets and full-time actors, the former are easy to heap praise upon. 

With a lack of funds or formal training, the latter are frequently impressive, but not often as jaw-dropping. 

This is not to denigrate the ‘weekend warrior’ thespians at all — some have decades of experience and their shows are sometimes all the more neat because of tight budgets. 

But Rotherham Rep have spoiled this convenient categorisation with a production which was both amateur and amazing — small-scale, yet stupendous. 

The 39 Steps is playwright Patrick Bariow’s comic take on John Buchan’s century-old thriller.

Richard Hannay (Shaun McHale) is a bored bachelor knocking about London, until a foreign spy ls murdered in his apartment.

There follows a high-stakes chase across England and Scotland, sweeping up bystander Pamela (Yvette Sayles) and putting both lives in danger.

It’s a big ask of five actors to perform this epic adventure, but the Rep were more than up to it. 

From the moment the lights went up, this production oozed class. 

Not just in its tweed suits and plummy pronunciation — the Rep would have fit right in at Sheffield Lyceum, never mind Rotherham Civic. 

McHale’s conslstently strong performance was mighty impressive, given his constant presence.

And his four co-stars’ portrayals of 30-odd characters (sometimes several per scene) were hilariously versatile. 

Even from up in the gods, their every expresslon drew many a laugh. 

It seems unfair to pick out one, but Anthony Lancashire’s rubber face and exaggerated accents had me chuckling throughout. 

That said, co-clowns Heather Stotton and Joe Brooke were similarly brilliant, as was Sayles. 

It might seem small, but the way actors flapped their jackets whenever the scene was windy had me in stitches. 

The constantly-shifting setting makes a minimalist and mobile set crucial. 

Packing trunks became train carriages, ladders a bridge and chairs a car, often with deliberately hilarious hamminess. 

A shadow puppet chase across the Scottish glens was particularly charming in its simplicity. 

All in all, the Rep made the absolute best of a limited lot, which allowed the actors’ talents to shine. 

And the theatre was packed to the rafters — as it should be, every night of this hugely enjoyable run. 

Tickets cost £9 (£8 concessions). Visit the box office on High Street, see www.rotherhamtheatres.co.uk or call 01709 823621 to book.