An accomplished British stage actress, Ms. Aitken made her U.S. directorial debut with The 39 Steps, and received a Tony nomination as Best Director for a Play. In London, the show won an Olivier for Best Comedy and has played over 1,000 performances. Her production of The 39 Steps has been mounted in seven other countries, including Australia and Israel.

Born in Dublin and educated at Oxford. Ms. Aitken has played leading roles at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. It's been said that she has starred in more Noel Coward plays in the West End of London than any other actress. Ms. Aitken teaches drama and has produced a series of master classes in acting for the BBC, including her own High Comedy class. She was a Visiting Associate Professor at the Yale School of Drama and is now on the faculty of the Juilliard Drama Division. Ms. Aitken is the author of "A Girdle Round the Earth" and "Style: Acting in High Comedy," and co-wrote "Acting in Film: An Actor's Take on Movie Making" with actor Michael Caine. Film audiences remember her as John Cleese's wife Wendy in the hit comedy, "A Fish Called Wanda."

What did you think of The 39 Steps when you first read the play?

Well, I was pretty bewildered by the script at first. It didn't have any stage directions of any kind. The original production had two actors doing the whole play in village halls and small theatres. In a previous touring production with four actors, the set and costume designer Peter McKintosh just used an empty theatre, three trunks and some ladders... and since the concept worked I kept him and it for the London production. I owe him a lot. And the original British producer, Edward Snape, kept faith with it through all its incarnations — he knew he had something which would finally prove to be commercial.

The 39 Steps has played in many countries besides England and America — Korea, Israel, Italy, Australia and, soon, Japan. What do you attribute to the world-wide popularity of The 39 Steps?

This play is a completely mad mutating baby. I think it's because audiences are charmed by the notion of heroism... the old fashion virtues... And, of course, because of Hitchcock. Very charmed that it doesn't have a trillion dollar set... There's theatrical magic about telling a film story using the audience's imagination. Audiences also enjoy watching actors working their butts off. The actors in this show always lose weight. They all give up the gym.

You act, direct, write and teach. Which is your first love, and why?

I love not having to show-up eight times a week doing a run in a play. I actually get more pleasure helping others with their performance than I do working on my own — which is why I love the classroom. It's unexpected... We didn't train when I started. Out of Oxford, I started performing in Rep making nine pounds a week.Kept doing roles... many different roles.That's how we learned to act... Only afterwards did I take acting classes... I was always a bit nervous when I started teaching — I had never been trained. Now I go to other people's classes....Yale, Julliard... We say the same things but in different ways. Acting, directing, teaching, writing... its all literate... all connected... you do everything.

You wrote a book on High Comedy — how would you define that term?

High comedy is comedy that relies on words — on verbal dexterity. In acting in high comedy, you start with the words. Americans tend to act between the words, in the gaps. If you use the words, the writer tells you who you are.

You have probably performed in more Noel Coward plays than almost anyone in the English-speaking world, including starring in Blithe Spirit directed by Harold Pinter. Why do you think you have such an affinity for Noel Coward plays?

I understand how he wrote. He always wrote with specific actors in mind. He wrote for full-formed personalities who were able to fill in the human being underneath the lines. You warm it up from underneath. His plays are full of blood and sexiness, they're not the brittle stuff they seem when you get it wrong. He takes care of the jokes, if you scrupulously obey his punctuation!

What has given you the most satisfaction as the director of The 39 Steps?

What gives me so much pleasure is once every fortnight I sit upstairs and look down and see the mixture of ages... young and old all laughing at the same thing. This play spans generations. We often have school groups come in. They are first shown the movie. They come into the theatre dreaming it. But once the play starts they love it. Kids who are brought up with all the technology come to the theatre and see smoke and ladders and bodies and no expensive special effects and they are thrilled. They feel the play for themselves - it's not all about money, it's not about sets and costumes... it's about imagination.

Maria Aitken is currently directing William Shakespeare's As You Like It at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C., which runs through December 20.

To hear all about The 39 Steps, click here. For even more on the show, click here.

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