REVIEW: North By Northwest — Thriller With A Comedic Twist Was “Fantastically Melodramatic”

Peter Eric Lang
May 28
3 min read

PLAYHOUSE THEATRE, CITY CENTRE, CITY OF LIVERPOOL, LIVERPOOL CITY REGION.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Classic Thriller, North by Northwest, Enjoyed A Successful Run At The Liverpool Playhouse

Liverpool Playhouse welcomed the daring thriller, North By Northwest, to their stage as part of a UK Tour for the show (Credit: Steve Tanner/Supplied/Image was provided to The Liverpudlian with permission to share, courtesy of the Publicist on behalf of their client. We make no claim to this content).

The Liverpool Playhouse welcomed the stage adaptation of famed American thriller, North By Northwest, an internationally beloved spy film centreing around a mistaken identity from renowned British Director, Alfred Hitchcock.

There were plenty of standout moments from the play with clever adaptations of famed scenes such as the corn field sequence. The well-rounded cast was fronted by magnetic lead, Ewan Wardrop, playing the part of Roger Thornhill, to which much credit is due for an effortlessly engaging performance.

The drama was interspersed with comedic elements and fantastically melodramatic action sequences and injections of flowing, well integrated dance scenes to add a rhythmic flow, propelling the play forward.

The costume was superb, and with stellar set design — these elements of the show were borderline faultless.

The Narrator played a good role. At times, placing well-timed jokes and moving the story along, allowing Roger Thornhill to verbalise what would otherwise be internal dialogue. If I was to see the show again, I would be interested in seeing The Narrator play the role as a woman, instead of trying to encapsulate a man. Additionally, for there to be less narrative description of what the characters are visually doing, with a redused use of over-exposition. Allowing for the scenes to organically develop so that the comedic elements pack more of a punch and carry the weight that they deserve, especially when they do land.

Overall, the show offers variety in terms of several lip-synced musical pieces, dance pieces and the type of traditional theatre that the stage was made for.

North by Northwest is a co-production between Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Wise Children, York Theatre Royal, and HOME Manchester.

Roger Thornhill is played by Ewan Wardrop (A Monster Calls, UK tour, US tour), and Phillip Vandamm by Karl Queensborough (Hamilton, Victoria Palace Theatre). Patrycja Kujawska (The Tin Drum, Kneehigh) takes on the role of Eve Kendall, and Mirabelle Gremaud (Peter Pan, Birmingham Rep) plays Anna. Both previously appeared in the acclaimed production Wise Children by the company of the same name. Katy Owen returned to the company to play The Professor, she previously appeared in The Buddha of Suburbia, Blue Beard, and Wuthering Heights, all produced by Wise Children. Rounding out the cast is Simon Oskarsson (Hadestown, Lyric Theatre) as Valerian.

Joining Emma Rice in the creative team are Set and Costume Designer Rob Howell; Sound Designer Simon Baker; Lighting Designer Malcolm Rippeth; Choreographer and Movement Director Etta Murfitt; and Creative Consultant Mark Kaufman.