Casting announced for Theatre by the Lake’s big summer comedy, The 39 Steps

Theatre by the Lake, Keswick will be staging a revival of Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre’s hugely popular production of The 39 Steps this summer.

Dave Hearn, Lucy Keirl, Olivia Onyehara and Niall Ransome will be directed by Stephen Joseph Theatre’s Artistic Director, Paul Robinson. The show mixes a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, and adds a dash of Monty Python to create a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre.

This Olivier Award-winning treat is packed with non-stop laughs, some good old-fashioned romance and a whole host of colourful characters (all played by a ridiculously talented cast of four). Iconic scenes include the chase on the Flying Scotsman, the first-ever theatrical biplane crash and a death-defying (well nearly) finale.

Dave Hearn is a founder member of Mischief Theatre, the award-winning comedy creators of Goes Wrong and much more, and has appeared in many Goes Wrong shows on stage and TV. Niall Ransome is also a member of Mischief Theatre, and returns to Theatre by the Lake after his role in the recent hit ‘Around the World in 80 Days’. They are joined by Lucy Keirl (‘Cinderella’, Stephen Joseph Theatre, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ (Hope Mill/Shakespeare North Playhouse) and Olivia Onyehara (‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ and ‘Richard III’, RSC). This wonderfully comic cast will be directed by Paul Robinson, the director of the critically acclaimed 2022 stage production of ‘Brief Encounter’ (Theatre by the Lake, Stephen Joseph Theatre and The Octagon Theatre, Bolton).

Paul says: “We had an absolute riot when we created our first production of ‘The 39 Steps’ back in 2018 – and that was just our team! But I think that goes for the audiences, too: people have been asking us ever since to bring it back. We’re delighted that this remount is a co-production with Theatre by the Lake – we’re sure that the Lakes will love it as much as our Scarborough audience did.”

Liz Stephenson, Artistic Director at TBTL, says: “It’s great to be working with Stephen Joseph Theatre again and we’re very much looking forward to welcoming this great production to our audiences here at Theatre by the Lake. ‘The 39 Steps’ is the perfect addition to our line-up of shows being staged here this year. After the success of both ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ and ‘Brief Encounter’ in 2022 we felt this classic and comedic whodunit was something our audiences were keen to have more of.”   

This co-production is designed by Helen Coyston, with associate designer Eve Oakley. The lighting designer is Jason Taylor, sound design and composition is by Simon Slater, Erin Carter is the movement director/associate director and Julia Perry-Mook is the wardrobe supervisor. The casting director is Sarah Hughes CDG.    

It can be seen in the round at Theatre by the Lake from Thu 3 August – Sat 2 September.