The 39 Steps, Criterion Theatre ***

 The 39 Steps is efficient enough to tell a spy caper in the space of 100 minutes, including an interval, and is extremely fun, but I am not sure it is anything more than that. True to say that the four actors are extremely admirable, with character changes which are incredibly amusing. However, the fact that it is not the funniest play on the west end is difficult as that is really what it relies on in it's advertising. Therefore, now the only pull it has for staying in the west end is the appeal to tourists for the over-use of union jacks in all forms of advertising. The tricycle theatre is known for experimental stuff, but this just feels a bit safe for the group, with all members of the cast being white and very stereotypically 'British'. It doesn't seem to challenge the rules of theatre-going to make this particularly interesting. That being said, it is fantastically fun for the duration, with the actors mocking the whole absurdity of the piece throughout. I certainly did not feel like a wasted any money or time coming to see this fun sow, even if it wasn't quite as funny or different as I would have liked.