North by Northwest – Liverpool Playhouse

Billed as a ‘theatre legend’ in the production’s accompanying notes, celebrated director Emma Rice’s adaptation of this Hitchcock classic for the stage is sumptuous and visually arresting but sadly more style over substance with its lack of storyline.

It would be strange would it not, poses The Professor (Katy Owen) who narrates much of the evening’s proceedings, if in a city of seven million people, one man was never mistaken for another. And in a flash we are transported to the bright lights of the big city – New York – in 1959, where we meet reluctant hero Roger Thornhill (Ewan Wardrop), whose mistimed phone call to his mother lands him smack bang in the middle of a Cold War conspiracy. Now he’s on the run dodging spies and airplanes as he tries to evade the clutches of villain Phillip Vandamm (Karl Queensborough) and his evil sidekicks, Anna (Mirabelle Gremaud) and Valerian (Simon Oskarsson), as well as a femme fatale (Patrycja Kujawska) who may not be all she seems.

Rob Howell’s set and costumes were visually impressive with an array of suits lining the back wall and four wooden revolving doors, each containing a cocktail bar, embodying the style and elegance of Madison Avenue whilst also adapting creatively support other locations as the plot unravels. The use of ever appearing suitcases was a useful device to keep us informed of location but on occasion became a little overplayed: do it but you don’t need to tell us you’re doing it.

There is good technical support from lighting designer Malcolm Rippeth who enhances the mood and feel whilst sound designer Simon Baker serves up the necessary effects along with accompanying musical numbers from the era set to strongly choreographed routines from movement director Etta Murfitt.

But here’s the rub: when you strip away the doors, music, and choreography, well, there’s not much left and certainly very little story.

The role of narrator goes very much against the grain of ‘show don’t tell’ and equally telling me what is happening when I can see what is happening on stage adds little purpose. There was some good interaction with the audience, but verging on the pantomime it seemed mostly unnecessary other than to act as fill. I didn’t say that did I? Oh yes I did! Coming in at just over the two-hour mark plus an interval, one could easily trim 30 minutes off without missing a beat.

The cast as a whole are clearly talented and seamlessly move between supporting roles as an ensemble with minor costume changes, but they need more script to work with than this adaptation provides and probably why it falls back upon the narration to get it out of trouble.

There are a lot of choreographed musical numbers to support moving the plot along although it is not always clear why, and as with much of this production, it becomes overdone. Mimed routines are all right within reason but become tedious after a while, especially when the songs are played out in full. Why aren’t the cast singing them? That would be much more impactful. The choreography also becomes a sideshow to the main theme: there’s a lot more to physical theatre than, oh look, I can do cartwheels; oh look, I can do the splits.

Sadly, by the time we reach the crescendo scene of the aircraft or the climax on Mount Rushmore at the end, the production has run out of creative ideas with both proving rather disappointing. Cheeky chats with the audience and knowing winks are one thing but I was really expecting so much more: a writer would be a good start.

Based on the Turner Entertainment Co. film of the same name, North by Northwest is a Wise Children, York Theatre Royal, HOME Manchester, and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse co-production.  Full details of tour venues and booking at https://www.wisechildrendigital.com/northbynorthwest

Reviewer: Mark Davoren

Reviewed: 20^th May 2025

North West End UK Rating: