BASKERVILLE - A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY

There’s a mystery afoot at Tynemouth Priory Theatre all this week, as the group stage Ken Ludwig’s ‘Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery’, but their audiences are more likely to be gripped by laughter than suspense.

The fast-paced, very wordy 90-minute comedy drama is based upon Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s third Holmes novel ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’, but in a zany and unexpected way. The unravelling of the mystery in ‘Baskerville’ is secondary to how creatively the play is staged.

Five actors perform a combined 39 characters with the help of dozens of accents, hats, wigs, moustaches and costumes, most of which stayed in place !. Cleverly directed by Ann Leake and Ali Broughton, the production is rife with quick-change artistry, sight gags, sound effects and the inventive use of props and movable scenery to flesh out the fast-moving story set in London and on the mysterious moors of Devonshire in the 1880s. All of this done with the aid of some very helpful and atmospheric projections.

Leading the cast is Ian Cairns, who plays the unflappable super-sleuth Holmes with a sober and quick-witted self-importance. The very affable Glen Kingston is Holmes’ eager and enterprising assistant Doctor Watson. The other three actors; Alex Swann, Alex Heppell and Laurence Hill play all the other 37 characters with impressive vocal skills, comic timing and inexhaustible energy. Their many characters include a country doctor, a frumpy old woman, mis-behaved teens, a butterfly-chasing fop, the doomed heir Charles Baskerville and his heir, American cowboy Henry Baskerville, as well as a washerwoman, police inspector, tobacco salesman, the neighbour’s gentle-natured wife Beryl, a boy servant, a maid a shepherdess and many more. Their skills were exemplary and deserve every plaudit.

I’m a Sherlock Holmes fan who has read most of the Holmes novels, but I admit losing track of the story somewhere along the way in ‘Baskerville’. But that’s not due to any problem with the script. I was just too focused on how the actors pulled off so many character, accent and costume transformations without a slip.

A simple but effective set, designed by Andy Gilmore and built by Andy, Robin Cooper, Hugh Mackintosh, Chris Young and Rachel Hardy, managed by Thomas Gilmore added to the atmospheric feel. The lighting by Tony Hall and sound by Andy and Bekky Gilmore also added to the effectiveness of the production.

I have, at this stage, to give a big shout out to the Wardrobe, Dressers and Props Teams for their splendid work. I couldn’t have kept pace with the huge number of changes, which were done seamlessly (excuse the pun) and excellently well.

A huge congratulations to the whole team.

Thank you for the invitation. Councillor Peter and I both enjoyed our evening. We look forward to Steel Magnolias.

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