"Vintage Hitchcock : A Live Radio Play"

Festival Players Online

For as long as I can remember I have always listened to the radio. Whether that be for music or for some of the wonderful radio plays that have been produced over the last half a century. Tuning in and letting your imagination run wild, visualising the characters in your mind and the events that are unfurled as related by the brilliant radio actors who breathe life into the words and characters from the stories.

The three Hitchcock stories presented as a one-off online radio triple bill, "The Lodger", "Sabotage" and "The 39 Steps" were perfect for this picture-painting exercise. The first two being new to me and the third being one of my favourite radio plays for many a year now.

"The Lodger" is set in 1888 in a stormy, rainy and misty area of London at the modest home of Ellen and Robert Bunting who decide that, to make ends meet, that they would take in a lodger, affording them to have their daughter, Daisy, stay with them again. One wet and windy evening there is a knock on the door, a mysterious Mr Sleuth requesting a place to stay and offering a tidy sum for rent. Could there be a connection between the mysterious new lodger and The Avenger; the serial killer who stalks young, blonde girls to murder?

It takes a special kind of actor who can pull off a radio play as they have to play out every emotion via their voice. There's no relying on facial or physical expressions, like fear when you can't see the actor, and this cast created an exciting, edge of the seat play. The settings were thanks to still pictures of the era and the location and we did not see the actors to glean emotions, albeit going out online. that would have rightly marred the whole "radio play" image of the production.

The sound effects were excellent and really created images in the mind of the Bunting's home and the wet, misty dangerous streets of London in that period.

"Sabotage" is a real thriller and tells the story of the Verlocks, Winnie and Carl, who run a picture house. One evening there is a blackout and there is a fear that they could be losing money from having to hand back the entrance fees to their punters when they are unable to show the film. Business neighbour, Ted, helps out and they end up not having to lose out. But Ted has also spotted something about Carl Verlock that does not seem quite right. But Ted is also not quite who he is portraying either. Again the plot is an edge of the seat play. Carl is up to no good, and his actions result in tragic circumstances for Winnie's son, Stevie. There are several twists and turns involved which involve more lives lost in this domino effect drama.

"The 39 Steps" is one of those plays that most theatre goers, as well as radio play fanatics will be well aware of. I've seen this several times in the theatre but listening to this play again as a "radio play" really catches the imagination in a Dick Barton kind of way. It all comes full circle to the Music Hall where Annabella Smith is taken in by Richard Hannay. Annabella is murdered, Hannay travels to Scotland to stop the state secrets from being taken out of the country, only to find that this lands him in more peril. He takes along with him the lady he meets first in the train and then their paths cross further down the line when their rescue from a car crash by the police only reveals that they are heading back into the clutches of the Professor who Hannay had been shot by. To cut a long story short, and I am sure you know the story anyway, the head back to London, the Music Hall and Mr Memory, who holds the secret to what the 39 steps are. Will Mr Memory be able to reveal what he knows before he becomes the next victim of the deadly foreign spies?

I absolutely loved this production, after all radio is right up my street. Being an avid reader also gives me the ability to activate my imagination, so combining these two, along with the Master of Suspense's words plus the wonderful acting and character painting skills of these actors of The Festival Players, this had to be one of my highlights from the online performances I have had the pleasure to be asked to review.

I've also had the pleasure of seeing The Festival Players in a theatre setting so I already know the calibre of their acting ability. Creating tension, suspense, fear and emotion without seeing the actors, using the power of voice, just shows what talent and flexibility this group have.

I must also mention the "sponsor jingles" sung by the cast with nods to a couple more of Hitchcock's classics "North By Northwest" and "Psycho"

Not only did they provide a couple of hours escapism and entertainment, their hard work has also, hopefully, provided some welcome funds for Rainbows Children Hospice via donations from the online listeners.

The cast who were nothing short of excellent, and played several roles over the three plays, were Nick Grainger, Danielle Aley, Jon Orton, Richard York (who was brilliant as Mr Sleuth), James Daw, Kat Etoe, Simon Page, Valerie Schmitt, Edward Orton, Mary Baird, Ian Currie and Sally Bruton.

Technical Director was Jon Orton and Laura Brookes was the Director.

It would be great to see any or all of these plays live on stage and see these actors revisit their roles in a theatre setting. Who knows, maybe some time in the future?