Among all the scenic by-products that have invaded our billboard, misunderstanding profanity with humor, ‘Los 39 Escalones’ shines as an authentic gem of theatrical entertainment. A delightful choice of repertoire and an unqualified success wherever it has been given. It is a hilarious comic piece of playfulness, amusing and funny through and through, brimming with sharp wit and an amazing inventiveness. If there is an awakened audience here, it will crowd the room for several months: there is no way anyone could get bored with it.

     Originally premiered in London in 2006. It provides a dramatization of the namesake film directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1935 as part of his English period, and it is a classic spy movie. The appeal is that it imposes the challenge of telling the intrigue of mystery and action with only four actors. The main character is a bored guy who must flee London when he gets involved in a murder he did not commit, while being pursued by the police as well as by the thugs of a sinister international conspiracy. The only actress takes on all three female roles in the story, and the other two actors multiply in more than a hundred of secondary characters, sometimes with visible changes (and including some inanimate objects). Playfully, the scenic story creates the most diverse places of action with simple props, while supported by a very elaborate soundtrack and a lively light pattern that provides the fast-paced twists and turns of the environment and atmosphere.

     Hilarious, this pastiche works as a farcical and very physical comedy, full of absurd or outrageous surprises. It is a nostalgic tribute that at the same time parodies cinematic ‘suspense’. Meanwhile, it evokes the sensibility that liked of this style and a previous era that will not return. It is not necessary to know the film to follow the release but having seen it certainly enhances the pleasure (incidental music often references other Hitchcock films).

     The merit of director Felipe Ríos consists in deploying the exact and vertiginous precision mechanism that is the work, with vibrant energy. Although a greater differentiation of multiple characters would be desirable, each of the performers - Eyal Meyer, Patricia López, Sebastián Layseca y Francisco Gormaz – they all enjoy playing their roles and share their own delight with the audience. However, there is a danger: is an ideal play for its performers to be enthusiastic for being even more.