WOULD the ulcer John Buchan was suffering from whilst penning The 39 Steps have burst from indignation had he seen his spy thriller transformed into a comedy caper?

Or would the Scottish-born author have curled up the corners of his British stiff upper lip in pride and joined in the audience’s thunderous applause?

Patrick Barlow’s script has thrilled theatres all over the globe and is now cutting a dash across the Liverpool stage in a brand new production for the Playhouse.

It draws on master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film version of Buchan’s original novel, with all 100-plus characters portrayed by just four actors.

Dugald Bruce-Lockhart, whose own name would be perfectly suited to a tale of derring-do, plays mustachioed hero Richard Hannay with perfectly timed dead-pan and just the right amount of exaggeration.

Tippi Hedron-lookalike Katherine Kingsley meanwhile switches from mysterious brunette Annabella Schmidt, Glaswegian housewife Pamela and the earnestly lovely Margaret thanks to a few costume changes and her own great versatility.

Hannay and Margaret are the straight men to Richard Braine and Dan Starkey, who take on the rest of the characters.

They are bungling policemen, variety show acts, enemy spies, underwear salesmen, kilt-sporting hoteliers and many more – sometimes playing numerous characters at a time using more accents than there are in the United Nations.

All of the film’s scenes are also featured – some in depth, others flashing by as the plot zips through the 90-minute script faster than a steam train crossing the Forth Bridge.

The set is minimal but ingenious, relying on the audience’s imagination to fill in the blanks – a picture frame becomes a window Hannay must escape through, doors are wheeled off and on stage to resemble new locations and four dining chairs turn into a car.

Hannay’s escape across the Scottish wilderness is portrayed through a sequence of shadow puppetry that is clever and silly at the same time.

The show is a ripping yarn of a comedy that will have you laughing out loud, while checking the theatre for suspicious characters.

READ an interview with cast members Dugald Bruce-Lockhart and Katherine Kingsley at http://tiny.cc/ldp39steps