Sanam Saeed to walk ‘The 39 Steps’

It isn’t often that a theatre play is highly anticipated in Pakistan. However, when it has a celebrity name and a great story attached to it, it creates buzz organically. Such is the example of Nida Butt’s upcoming play, The 39 Steps.

Produced by Made for Stage Productions, the play is a spy thriller/comedy set in 1930s England with four actors portraying over 50 characters! However, unlike their previous productions – Chicago, Mamma Mia, Karachi –The Musical amongst others – The 39 Steps is a spoof of the famous Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name.

The play is a spy thriller/comedy set in 1930s England with four actors portraying over 50 characters!

Starring Sanam Saeed – who previously starred in Made for Stage’s Chicago  –  Faraz Lodhi, Zeeshan Shah, and Ali Hashmi, The 39 Steps is an Olivier Award-winning play that has been staged on Broadway and was the 5^th longest-running play in London’s West End. It’s a raucous comedy with lightning-fast costume and character changes as four actors play over 50 different characters!

“This is unlike any other play that I’ve directed before, it’s very minimal, no sets, no singing, dancing or live orchestra,  just 4 actors with few props portraying an adventure story with numerous characters,” Nida said in a statement.  “It requires a lot of creative thinking, it’s  been a challenging process which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, and the actors too have had to bring on their best most creative performances as there are very quick changes in character, costume and makeup”.

According to the statement, Sanam plays the roles of  German spy  Annabella,  British blonde  Pamela,  and country belle Margaret. She’s joined by Faraz Lodhi as Richard Hannay, British traveler on the run to prove his innocence, whereas, Zeeshan Shah & Ali Hashmi play over a dozen characters each.

The story follows a notorious fugitive and a spellbound blonde from a London music hall north by northwest to Scotland’s remote highlands on a quest to save Britain from a den of devious spies.

“It’s a spoof of a Hitchcock masterpiece with Monty Python style humor,” Nida Butt reveals.  “The story follows a notorious fugitive and a spellbound blonde from a London music hall north by northwest to Scotland’s remote highlands on a quest to save Britain from a den of devious spies.”

The show is all set to run on the proscenium arch starting this Friday, November 24 until Saturday, 9 December at the Karachi Arts Council. Stay tuned for our haute review!