Brighton Festival promises riotously funny reworking of Hitchcock’s North by Northwest

Brighton Festival is promising a riotously funny reworking of Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest that turns the original thriller on its head.

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Lovely this

00:06afternoon to speak to Patty. Now, a really intriguing, sounding show, but a great fun

00:11show too, with relevance as well. North by North West, brought to the stage by a very small cast

00:17for the Brighton Festival, with the dates, when are the dates? It's the 14th, 14th to the 17th

00:24of May at the Theatre Royal in Brighton. Now, how on earth do you get North by North West

00:32on the stage? Using as little as you can, and as small set as you can. It's only six performers

00:45playing 45, I believe, characters. The stage is beautifully designed by Rob Howe, and it

00:55involves four sets of revolving doors, which are acting a little bit like a kaleidoscope,

01:02and a pile of suitcases, which mean a lot in that film, and they are quite significant.

01:12Absolutely. It sounds great. And you were saying it's not just a romp, is it? I mean,

01:17it's a fantastic adventure, but there is significance to it, isn't there?

01:21Absolutely. Aside the fact that it's an incredibly witty, fast-paced, silly, sexy, virtuosic show,

01:33it's got depth, and it's got political connotations, and it's got, I don't know,

01:40dare I say a message or connection to the world we are living now, the strange world, which

01:47I sometimes seem like I'm a little bit lost in it, and I don't recognize it anymore.

01:52So, yes, it is political. It's about loyalty. It is about war, about losing your identity,

02:05about proving your innocence, and why do you even have to prove your innocence?

02:10It's about love. It's about growing up. It's about awakenings.

02:17Well, it sounds thoroughly entertaining. It's at the Brighton Festival, then, for May the 14th

02:23and 17th at Brighton Theatre Royal. It sounds great. Lovely to speak to you. Thank you.

02:29Great to speak to you, too. Thank you.