‘Hitchcock’ driven by tension

Only one movie director ever gained universal notoriety for his appearance, his voice, even his silhouette. He may not have won any Oscars, but Alfred Hitchcock certainly left his mark on Hollywood.

And, if legends are to be believed, on many fair-haired actresses as well. The director’s inner lech for blonds -- and his psychologically abusive treatment of them -- has been well documented, so much so that it inspired a play by England’s Terry Johnson, “Hitchcock Blonde,” now receiving its American premiere at South Coast Repertory under the direction of the playwright.

Johnson’s twin-pronged story is set in the past, 1959, and the present, with two equally intriguing plot lines. The modern tale focuses on a British cinema professor (Robin Sachs) who undertakes a research venture to a Greek island to explore six mysterious cans of film containing Hitchcock’s first -- and unreleased -- movie, “The Uninvited Guest” (1919). Along for the ride, and only the ride at first, is a young student, Adriana DeMeo, who couldn’t care less about Hitchcock or his smooth-talking mentor but can’t resist the lure of potential discovery.

Meanwhile, Hitchcock (Dakin Matthews) is casting a body double in 1959 to fill in for Janet Leigh during the shower scene for “Psycho,” with his sole candidate being an aspiring actress billed only as the “Blonde” (Sarah Aldrich). But rather than being the innocent object of Hitchcock’s lust, this blushing blond takes the initiative -- both with her director and her sullen husband (Martin Noyes) -- in a pair of chilling sequences.

Matthews, despite being familiar to South Coast Repertory audiences from performances over the past several seasons, comes off as an indelible, and quite eerie, reproduction of Hitchcock. In playwright Johnson’s world, Hitch is reduced to mere mortality with his loss of control -- which the Blonde grasps with a spooky turnaround after patiently walking through 17 screen test takes in the nude.

That Aldrich’s character enjoys the upper hand is telegraphed earlier in the play when she attacks Noyes for no apparent reason other than his maddening disinterest. This results in a slashing scene, choreographed by Noyes, which could have been lifted from any number of Hitchcock movies.

Bending credibility even further is the platonic situation between Sachs, the teacher, and DeMeo, the pupil, which Johnson ignites with a blowtorch at the conclusion of the first act. Sachs’ intellectual instructor (who may or may not be dying) plays his implied seduction coolly and calmly, waiting for the more vibrant and emotionally unwired DeMeo to jump (literally) into his arms and soothe his midlife crisis.

Equally relevant to “Hitchcock Blonde” is William Dudley, who designed not only the multiple settings but also the costumes and atmosphere-establishing video design. Chris Parry created the haunting lighting effects. Although Ian Dickinson is credited as composer and sound designer, he owes an enormous debt to Bernard Herrmann, who scored so many of Hitchcock’s more noteworthy movies, including the strains of “Psycho” that permeate this production.

Devotees of Alfred Hitchcock -- and their number is legion -- may not be completely satisfied with Terry Johnson’s treatment of the master of movie suspense, and theater aficionados may quibble with the motivation of some of the play’s characters. But the central theme of obsession, often elevated to dangerous levels, comes across resoundingly in “Hitchcock Blonde.”

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews appear Fridays.

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: “Hitchcock Blonde”

WHERE: South Coast Repertory, Segerstrom Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa