Audience Guide Researched and Written by Tina Kakuske
By Arrangement with Fiery Angel Limited
From the novel by John Buchan
From the movie by Alfred Hitchcock
Licensed by ITV Global Entertainment Limited
And an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon
PARODY OR PASTICHE?
Adapter Patrick Barlow calls The 39 Steps a Comedy Thriller. Based on the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock, it can also be defined as a parody or pastiche.
Parody – a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule
Pastiche – a literary, artistic, musical, or architectural work that imitates the styles of previous works
Which do you think it is?
A GREATE STORY LIVES ON
The Thirty-Nine Steps by Buchan has been adapted multiple times and in various media since serialization in 1915. The list includes 4 films, 18 radio performances, 3 audio recordings, 1 theater adaptation, 1 television prequel, 1 Netflix miniseries (currently in production), and 1 video game.
FIND THE MacGUFFIN
Find the MacGuffin
The MacGuffin in fiction refers to “an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself.” A device coined by Angus McPhail in film and used by Hitchcock in multiple films, see if you can determine what the MacGuffin is in The 39 Steps.
IYKYK
Based on the film by Hitchcock, The 39 Steps play adaptation by Barlow contains Hitchcockian “Easter eggs” throughout the script. An Easter egg is a hidden message, inside joke, or reference that not everyone will get. A kind of IYKYK (if you know, you know) reference. Listen for them in the play!
DID YOU KNOW?
The 39 Steps play adaptation by Barlow was based on the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock, not on the book by Buchan.
The play was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy in 2007 and garnered the first Tony Award for Sound Design (Sound Designer Mic Pool) and the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a Play, both in 2008.
The 39 Steps refers to a spy organization in the Hitchcock film and Barlow play adaptation, but originally in Buchan’s book referred to an actual staircase. The idea came from a staircase that led to a beach adjacent to a nursing home where Buchan was recuperating from an ulcer.
Benedict Cumberbatch is set to produce and star in a present-day adaptation of the well-known novel as a limited series on Netflix.
SPLENDID PHRASES
Listen to these interesting phrases in The 39 Steps:
Do a bunk– means to leave suddenly and unexpectedly, thought to originate with the word bunkum to describe insincere or nonsense talk which evolved into departing to avoid an unpleasant situation
Bob’s your uncle – means “and there you have it” or “easily accomplished,” from a case of nepotism by PM Lord Salisbury (Robert) who appointed his nephew as Chief Secretary to Ireland (1887)
Everything’s tickety boo – means” in good order” or “as it should be,” derived from Hindustani, then becoming a Royal Navy term for O.K.
THE NOVEL BY JOHN BUCHANAN
The original novel, The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan, is known as a man-on-the-run spy thriller. Buchan called it a “shocker,” defined as “an adventure where the events in the story are unlikely and the reader is only just able to believe that they really happened.” Main Character Richard Hannay is featured in 5 novels and is a minor character in 2 novels, all written by Buchan.
References:
https://www.merriam-webster.com
https://www.goldderby.com/article/2025/alfred-hitchcock-macguffin-plot-device-the-39-steps/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirty-Nine_Steps
https://theplaylist.net/the-39-steps-netflix-benedict-cumberbatch-20210410/
https://www.denvercenter.org/education/for-educators/the-39-steps-study-guide/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob%27s_your_uncle
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/do-a-bunk
https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-day/tickety-boo-2021-06-18/