As a director, what do you particularly focus on in a production?

I mean, I'm a real gagmeister.

The thing I love the most is I love the idea of the audience laughing.

For me, comedy is the highest art form.

And certainly in theatre, the audience is the other member of the cast.

You can do a straight play and nobody needs to make a sound and you can just do the play with nobody there or people there.

But with a comedy, it's that beautiful call and response, that give and take, the to and fro of timing something beautifully, getting that great big laugh in response.

Do you feel that there's any pressure on you from audiences or theatres to make The 39 Steps just as funny as that