ALFRED Hitchcock’s 1959 film North by Northwest, the story of mistaken identity in the frozen depths of the cold war, is widely considered to be one of the greatest films of all times. But it WAS 66 years ago, and many of today’s audiences will be entirely unfamiliar with the plot or its background.

So when director Emma Rice was approached to adapt the tale for performance by her Wise Children company, she knew she had to take a fresh look at the story – and in doing so has created one of her greatest shows. From her early days with Kneehigh through to the memorable but ill-fated months at Shakespeare’s Globe to her establishment of Wise Children, and finding, by Lucky Chance, its new home in Frome, Emma has provoked strong emotional and intellectual responses, and that’s just how she likes it.

In this retelling of the story of Roger Thornhill, mistaken for a spy called George Kaplan by a gang of foreigners plotting the overthrow of America and of global security, the six-strong company manages the extraordinary feat of paying proper homage to Hitchcock and of warning the audience of the similarities between the time the story is set and the febrile days in which we live today … all the while providing fun, laughs, astonishing choreography, marvellous renditions of classic songs and, finally, HOPE – shouted out loud.

Played on a stylish set of revolving doors and Manhattan cocktail bars, with annotated suitcases for props that build in scale up to Mount Rushmore, the company is choreographed by Etta Murfitt, who cut her theatre/dance teeth with Matthew Bourne. No possibility is left unexplored in terms of effects, from the famous crop duster scene to the wind on the high Black Hills of Dakota, mostly created with paper, cardboard and other Blue Peter accessories, as well as the super-flexible performers.

The team of Wise regulars and newcomers is led by the remarkable Katy Owen as The Professor, not just the apparent head of the sort-of CIA but also the narrator, keen to involve the audience in the proceedings and keep them up with the highspeed stage action. Ewan Wardrop is never offstage as the unfortunate Thornhill, with Patrycja Kujawska as the enigmatic Eve and Karl Queensborough as the arch baddie. Mirabelle Gremaud and Simon Oskarsson are the supplest of scary stooges as the action gains momentum travelling west across the USA to the dramatic denouement.

This is a triumphant production for the company, full of suspense, fun, wonderment and sheer joy, while at the same time highlighting the extraordinary similarities between Hitchcock’s Cold War semi-spoof and what we call “reality” in 2025.

Don’t miss the chance to see this North by Northwest, at Bath until Saturday 31st May, at Cheltenham from 3rd to 7th June or at the atmospheric Alexandra Palace from 11th to 22nd June.

 

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Photographs by Steve Tanner