The Hound of the Baskervilles

That famous thriller by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle where you’re anxiously on the edge of your seat: many characters, rich set, nail-biting and eerie potentially supernatural aspects to one of Sherlock Holmes’ most famous cases – this is not that. This, right from the outset where a man lights a mimed cigar to the music used in the old Hamlet cigar ad, is a comedy farce. Can you do a comedy farce of such a classic story? The answer is, if the writing is as clever as this, yes you can. 

This was blank stage with some wheeled on set pieces and everyone except Watson, yes even the one playing Sherlock, multi-rolling. There were only five actors in the whole play and sometimes someone changing character mid scene. It’s reminiscent of the fun adaptations of classics: The 39 Steps for example. The first act went as expected, once you get used to the style, and although some jokes are a bit groan, it’s still very clever writing – then suddenly, right before the interval, it switched up a gear and did the unexpected. The actors broke character and the fourth wall so well that for a moment we weren’t sure if it was real or part of the action. The unruffled crew and stewards were the only indication. Coming back after the interval, there was a frisson of excitement, as this was no longer a predictable show, this was something new.  

The start of act two, accusing an audience member of an Instagram post saying about the pace of the show, was hilarious: bearing in mind the person telling us all off was Sherlock Holmes. The juxtaposition was glorious. His insistence that they do the whole first act again, at speed, to make a point: brilliant. And they did this so well. When the action continued from that point it was unclear whether the things going wrong were meant to happen or not, and it didn’t matter. The audience knew they were in safe hands and they knew it was a ride they could not anticipate the end of: which is a very welcome surprise for those who know the story well.  

The cast were really great. They owned the stage with confidence and calm. Nick Parnell showed a brilliant skill at mime: very sharp and slick movements, and the delivery of “he’s eating his own beard” which may have been an ad lib was guffaw funny: perfect timing. Ben Burwood’s Sherlock was just right: played straight, and funnier for it. His Stapleton and Miss Stapleton: Welsh and Spanish respectively, were utterly hilarious. Bronja Whitlock did some superb improv and ad libbing, filling the stage with looking for “Sir Henry” when there was nothing happening and nobody knew what was going on. Really well done. Bev Connor’s huge character portfolio in the play was at all times calm, even when changing in front of everyone from husband to wife by moving a fake beard. David Bennett really held playing the characters straight even when things seemed to be falling apart around him at times: really well done. All five worked so beautifully together, a real team ensemble effort, and a joy to see. 

The set pieces were great. The vertical bed was a genius idea, and the sauna steps which pulled apart and became facing seats for the train were such a great idea. Costumes were really great, Holmes’s suit was perfect for him as the dapper and suave detective, and all the others worked really well. The sound effects were thought out really well: there was a fantastic moment when they closed the train window, and the sound source changed direction! Amazing. Another window moment which was gorgeous was Mrs Barrymore talking and them closing the window, so suddenly we couldn’t hear her any more: Bev Connor did this talking into miming really well. Newick is always a theatre company with heart, and they have created a wonderful, unexpected piece of theatre with this which is a real joy to watch. Congratulations to everyone involved in a super show.

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