Arts. Have an idea for a story or review? Contact the editor at arts@theotherpress.ca Timing is everything ‘The 39 Steps’ marries Hitchcock to Monty Python By Adam Tatelman, Contributor HOSS he 39 Steps (here until March 16) occupies that bizarre territory of theatre where the performance is transparently an act of make-believe and yet all the more hilarious for it. Four incomparable and seemingly tireless actors (Diana Coatsworth, Jay Hindle, Shawn Macdonald, and David Marr) play over 150 screwball cartoon characters who know that their performances are beyond believable and play that fact to the hilt, constantly breaking the illusion through their interactions with one another, their environment, and occasionally themselves—with uproarious results. As a fan of Alfred Hitchcock, I was looking forward to seeing his first successful spy movie adapted into a comedy for the stage, as presented by the Arts Club. Much of the dialogue is unchanged from the film version, which is a fairly straightforward (by Hitchcock’s standards), serious-if-darkly- comic thriller. It’s surprising how easy it is to play all the same lines for laughs. The play concerns Richard Hannay, a 1930s Englishman going through a midlife crisis whose world is turned upside down by fraulein fatale Annabella Schmidt, a spy who knows too much about the mysterious and titular “39 steps.” Hannay ends up framed for murder, and the subsequent journey to Scotland to meet an informant takes us through Hitchcock’s entire filmography, complete with references to Rear Window, North By Northwest, Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds; see if you can spot the silhouette of the master himself! It is clear that director Dean Paul Gibson is a great fan of Hitchcock films, affectionately ribbing everything that made them iconic in the first place: classic violin chords meant to punctuate romantic or dramatic moments are abused to the point of parody. The understated romance common to Hitchcock thrillers is comically sexualized. The film noir-esque interplay of light and shadows is turned into actual shadow puppet theatre, making for amusing scene transitions. Hitchcock's personal favourite ‘falsely-accused man’ narrative is spoofed by police radio broadcasts that compliment the suspect on his lovely haircut. All this congeals into an entrancing insane asylum that plays with your sense of aesthetic distance like an old arcade machine. It’s hard to maintain a sugar-high of manic energy throughout an entire play, but this cast of actors might as well be six years old (yes, that’s a compliment); they change costumes in a matter of seconds, offstage and on, swapping accents, faces, and bodies like they are second, third, fifth, and twelfth skins. Only in The 39 Steps will you see an actor juggle three different roles on stage at once, effortlessly leaping between Scottish constable, English passenger, and wailing train conductor within the span of seconds, or one actor literally Press x-button to epiphany We need to redefine the term art game By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor he term ‘art game’ sets off an alarm for a lot of people. Relating back to the term every time is the argument on whether or not video games can be considered a form of art. That argument is very much the “eraphic novel” of the gaming world, that is—to this writer any way—a stupid, Rorschach test of an argument, if you can even call it an argument anymore. The ‘argument’ has gotten even more complicated in the last two decades, as many (mainly indie) developers have become more creative with their projects. To better define the term, ‘art game,’ as times have changed, now refers to games that focus on their atmosphere more than anything else. The argument previously mentioned 8 has since lost most of its meaning as the term has now mutated into its own genre of games. For example, video games such as Braid (2008), And Yet It Moves (2009), and Limbo (2010) have all fallen under the genre of art game. Where I feel a new debate needs to arise is in what specifically can be listed under this new genre. The three games listed above are, I feel, distorted into the genre’s mix because their artwork is a major factor in how the player experiences the game. All three games are platformers that gradually get more complicated as the player treks on, and while they are amazing to look at, these games are not here just to look pretty—the player actually has to accomplish a goal within the game. Other games with gorgeous artwork, such as Stacking (2011) or Bastion (2011) for example, aren’t considered art games, perhaps because their goals are more obvious (in Stacking you solve puzzles, in Bastion you largely fight enemies). That’s not to say what I consider an art game doesn’t have a goal or at least an ending for the player. Usually what is seen in these games is either a story (oftentimes revealed out of order) or a setting that is meant to envelop the player, and that’s basically it—the term ‘minimalist’ comes to mind. Irecently played a French- language indie game called Bientot l’été (Soon the Summer in English), which came out on February 8. In this game, the player chooses either a male or female avatar, traverses a beach for apparitions that drop chess pieces, and then converses with whoever else is playing over an apparent game of chess—rinse, repeat, beat the game. I did not like Bientét l’été, which struck a chord in me because I actually enjoyed the hotly debated Dear Esther (2012). In Dear Esther, the player walks through various environments, gradually piecing together the fragments of how they got to this point—that’s the entire game. Both games wearing two costumes and talking to himself for an entire scene. As if all this wasn’t enough, the cast and crew are constantly readjusting the stage in full view of the audience, keeping up the breakneck pace without fail. A trio of ladders far upstage becomes a bridge in the distance as Hannay evades the authorities by climbing it; furniture becomes luggage then becomes a train car, in which all the actors wobble along as if they were enduring a bumpy ride; most impressively, a lecture hall becomes a car onstage. All this underlines the hilarity of what we’re witnessing; the transitions are obvious, yet the characters believe it. It is are stunning to look at, but if their stories mean nothing to the player, than I can assure the player has wasted their money. Dear Esther and Bientét l’été are the types of games I truly feel are art games. They’re the arthouse and the avant-garde of the gaming world, and they can either be deeply meaningful to a person or a crappy way to spend two hours. Many more of these art games have popped up in the last few years. Tale of Tales, the Belgian company that developed Bientot l’été, has a slew of other art games under their belt, including another hotly debated title, The Graveyard (2008), in which you are an elderly woman visiting a graveyard (it’s been advertised you sit on a bench at some point). Rez, an older title released in North America in 2002, is considered to be an art game as it is largely visual and sound-based, as is its 2011 prequel Child of Eden; both games attempt to replicate synesthesia. The widely beloved 2012 game Journey, for those Martin Happer, Diana Coatsworth, Shawn Macdonald, and David Marr in fhe 39 Steps Proto courtesy of The Georgia Straight telling that the changing of each character, costume and set piece was so excruciatingly planned out that the entire play is an athletic circus act comparable to spinning plates in perfect unison while performing a flamenco dance. The intermission honestly felt obtrusive and flow- breaking. I warn you; this show’s run is very limited. Even if you’ve never seen a Hitchcock movie— even if old thrillers are too slow for your taste—this loving pastiche may be just what you need to get into something new. I implore you, don’t waste this window of opportunity. Climb as many steps as you must to see this absolutely engrossing farce. who don’t already know, is also an art game in that the player traverses a desert and occasionally interacts with their environment. Back to the topic at hand, each of those games previously listed are, again, true to the art game form. They’re experiments for a player to take on and, like any experiment, you either come out of it somewhat changed or shoulder- shruggingly disappointed. Someone desperately needs to redefine the term ‘art game,’ because experiencing your environment (like in Dear Esther or Journey) is not the same as solving a puzzle (like in Braid or Limbo). Now I play the waiting game as Walden, a Game nears completion—Walden is a video game adaption of the Henry David Thoreau book, and considering how divided readers of the book are known to be, I’m looking forward to the debates on this soon-to-be art game.