NORTH BY NORTHWEST

Alexandra Palace Theatre

★★★★

“It is testament to Rice’s stylish and ingenious staging that we never lose the plot.”

The lights are dim, casting shadows on the revolving doors and liquor bottles, while silhouettes of shady figures move silently in the twilight, fedora’s tilted to shade the eyes. We expect Sam Spade to step out from the smoky, jazz rhythms; dressed in his gabardine long coat and Bogart drawl. Or Cary Grant with his transatlantic blend of cut glass and high class. But instead, Katy Owen, stalwart of Emma Rice’s ‘Wise Children’ company, trashes the fourth wall and greets us like music hall regulars. Lithe and angular, she moves like a panther high on humour and anarchic energy. She is the narrator, the professor, and other spies and deliciously unsavoury characters that fill the world Rice has created. Along with the five other cast members (is that all… there seem to be so many more?) she upturns, subverts and twists Alfred Hitchcock’s classic “North by Northwest”. ‘You’ve got to be on the ball to keep up with this’ she proclaims at the outset. Never mind being on the ball. We are clearly going to have a ball.

Newspaper headlines tell us where we are in time and context and banded suitcases let us know where we are in place, and who we are dealing with. Even so, it’s probably best to brush up on a rough synopsis before entering the auditorium. If only to appreciate the in-jokes and inventive use of props and scenery to depict the scenes. You must go and see for yourself how the iconic bi-plane chase in the cornfield is recreated. But I’m getting ahead of myself. This is a spy story, set in the late fifties, that sweeps across North America from New York to Mount Rushmore via Chicago. A tale of mistaken identity. Roger Thornhill (Ewan Wardrop) summons a bell boy in the Plaza hotel, New York, so he can call his mum. Two suspicious looking gangsters are watching him and assume he is George Kaplan – a spy who needs to be kidnapped and taken to their master. The ‘butterfly effect’ sets in motion a chaotic series of events whereby Roger becomes the hunted and the hunter, searching for the non-existent Kaplan (he’s an FBI made-up decoy) while being pursued by both enemies and friends of the state. Oh, and he falls in love on the way with double agent Eve (Patrycja Kujawska). Nobody is who they appear to be. It is testament to Rice’s stylish and ingenious staging that we never lose the plot.

There is a lot of multi-rolling – and gender blind is an understatement. Karl Queensborough is magnificent as the gangster ringleader Phillip Vandamn, while giving a hilarious turn as other cameos – especially Roger’s mother. Mirabelle Gremaud and Simon Oskarsson get to demonstrate their versatility as the hapless spies Anna and Valerian, among countless others. Kujawska’s Eve is suitably slippery, yet sassily sensual as the love interest we never know whether to trust or not. Despite all appearances to the contrary, Roger never loses faith (well, maybe for a moment or too – but he’s only human). Wardrop pitches the offhand charm and wit to near perfection.

As with all Rice’s shows, music is a key feature. Composer Simon Baker mixes his own sounds with classic tunes from the period. But absent is the actor-muso element. Instead, to fabulous comic effect, the cast lip synch to the musical numbers with faultless precision. Etta Murfitt’s choreography adds surreal touches that, in less able hands, could easily jar but this company are expert at combining physical theatre with drama, with comedy – and with storytelling. Owen’s narration certainly helps. A star performance, and she still has time to slip into other guises.

It is in danger of becoming a little bit muddled towards its final moments, and the same tricks are just on the brink of being overused. But as these zany, talented characters cling to the precipice of Mount Rushmore we are rooting for them, even though the suspense is lacking. We’re not entirely sure what Hitchcock might make of it all. He’d want more danger and darkness perhaps. But Rice is a master of her craft and fans of the film will love this play as much as fans of ‘Wise Children’.

NORTH BY NORTHWEST

Alexandra Palace Theatre

Reviewed on 12th June 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Steve Tanner

Previously reviewed at this venue:

BIRDSONG | ★★★ | February 2025

AN INSPECTOR CALLS | ★★★★ | September 2024

THE GLASS MENAGERIE | ★★★★ | May 2024

A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY | ★★★★ | November 2023

TREASON THE MUSICAL | ★★★ | November 2023

BUGSY MALONE | ★★★★★ | December 2022

NORTH BY NORTHWEST

★★★★★

“an evening of pure magic”

You could argue (and many people do) that the run up to Christmas gets earlier and earlier each year. No sooner have the pumpkins rotted and the fake cobwebs blown away from the city’s hedgerows, than the festive lights are switched on and Santa dominates the shop window displays. We utter ‘Humbug’ in disapproval and complain about rampant commercialism, while inwardly allowing the child in us a little bit of excitement. There is always a watershed, though, after which we can openly embrace the festive season without shame; and over the years one of them has become opening night of the Old Vic’s “A Christmas Carol”. It may still be November, but the annual event in Waterloo is now as traditional as mince pies. The spirit of Christmas is officially declared in our capital. And Old Marley is dead as a door nail.

Tradition rules in what is a faithful, but inspired, telling of Charles Dickens’ ‘ghostly little book’. Originally written in five staves it seems to be inviting a musical underscore, which Christopher Nightingale more than excels in providing. From the opening (and closing) handbell ringing through to the filmic strings and reeds, not to mention the chorale harmonies of the cast – dubbed ‘singing creatures’ by Scrooge. The ensemble cast also double up as a kind of chorus, in Victorian black and stove pipe hats, giving us stylised and choreographed snippets of Dickens’ evocative prose to link the staves of the story.

Central to the story, obviously, is old Ebenezer Scrooge. This year John Simm wears the cloak with an easy assurance. Not so much fearsome but more brooding. Beneath the initial rancour, one can glimpse a sensitivity that Simm brings that could almost excuse his forbidding nature; amplified by the flashbacks to his childhood at the hands of an abusive, debt-ridden father (an impressive Mark Goldthorp, who doubles as Marley’s ghost). Forgiveness and hope are essential strands in the narrative, and we understand how those hard done by, at Scrooge’s hand, manage to keep hold of this precarious quality. Juliette Crosbie’s Belle encapsulates this with a sharp and, at times, heart-rending portrayal of Scrooge’s lost love.

The three ghosts of ‘past’, ‘present’ and ‘yet-to-come’ are more mischievous than menacing in their matching patchwork cloaks. With the quality of a Shakespearian fool, they each lay open the painful truth Scrooge has spent a lifetime avoiding. In Jack Thorne’s imaginative adaptation, Scrooge’s little sister, Fan (Georgina Sadler) who died in childbirth, haunts him as the ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. An impassioned dialogue over Scrooge’s own coffin is a deeply moving moment. Our hearts break at other times, too. When Scrooge watches himself as a young boy he wistfully proclaims, “I don’t want him to become me”. A pause. “I want him to love”. Those simple four words are a pivotal point, the epiphanic moment that assures us he has reached the turning point. From then on, our own spirits are lifted to the roof; accompanied perfectly by the music that slowly swells from a plaintive a cappella solo voice to a sumptuous choir. Cut to black. A few seconds of pure and thick silence, and we are back in the present.

We are constantly and fully immersed in the story, whether sitting in the balcony, alongside the thrust of the playing space, or even on the stage itself. Director Matthew Warchus makes full use of the auditorium, resulting in a theatricality that cannot be faulted. Sparse yet evocative, we feel we are on the cobbled streets outside, with Rob Howell’s empty door frames made solid by Simon Baker’s ingenious sound design. Hugh Vanstone’s lighting is the icing on the cake (the brandy on the pudding) that adds the final magical flourishes. Simm’s transformation of character on Christmas morning is filled with a boyish ecstasy – a joy that we share watching this production. It is an evening of pure magic. Momentarily, the show slips out of character and flirts with pantomime – complete with chutes of sprouts and a low-flying turkey on a zip-wire. But the enchantment is swiftly restored. Joyous, evocative, atmospheric and spirited, “A Christmas Carol” is a tradition that has survived the past and will live long into the future. The Old Vic’s seasonal offering joins that tradition – and is the perfect Christmas present.

Tag Archives: Simon Baker

NORTH BY NORTHWEST

★★★★

Alexandra Palace Theatre

NORTH BY NORTHWEST

Alexandra Palace Theatre

★★★★

“It is testament to Rice’s stylish and ingenious staging that we never lose the plot.”