London
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Adapted by Steven Canny and John Nicholson.
4Stars ****

The Brockley Jack Studio Theatre, 418 Brockley Road, London SE4 2DH to 7 January 2017.
Tues-Sat 7.45pm
Runs 1hr 30 mins One interval.

TICKETS: 0333 666 3366.
www.brockleyjack.co.uk
Review: William Russell 17 December,

Dire, delightful and daft goings on.
Once again the Jack Studio has come up with a Christmas show to defy all expectations. Conan Doyle has not so much been adapted, as deconstructed by Canny and Nicholson and the result directed by Kate Bannister is hilarious.

Three actors take all the roles, displaying a versatility that amazes as well as a talent for playing some of the roles as badly as it is possible to do to great comic effect.

Joey Bartram is a suitably louche all knowing Holmes, as well as quite the ugliest mysterious Spanish woman who ever lived on Dartmoor, not to mention a smelly hermit who is, of course, Holmes in disguise. Adam Elliott is as dense and uncomprehending a Watson as ever there was, while Andrew Finch as the naïve Sir Henry Baskerville, a man who seems to have problems keeping his trousers on, heir to a family curse, manages to convince himself that the Spanish woman is beautiful and worth wandering on the moors for.

There is a bearded and sinister butler, his occasionally hirsute wife, – these quick changes do take it out of the chaps – and some rather nice comic business as they sink down into the bogs, run round the countryside in horse drawn traps or, in the case of Watson and Sir Henry, end up in bed together.

The mists swirl round the stylish set, those hounds howl, the wind blows and candles are lit in windows to convey messages to escaped convicts – this, after all, is Dartmoor.

Sir Arthur may be revolving in his grave at what has been done to his novel, the 26th Holmes story, but everyone else will be falling out of their seats with laughter.

Sherlock Holmes: Joey Bartram.
Doctor Watson: Adam Elliott.
Sir Henry Baskerville: Andrew Fitch.

Director: Kate Bannister.
Set Design: Karl Swinyard,
Lighting Design: Michael Edwards.
Sound Design: Philip Matejtschuk.
Costume Design: Martin Robinson.
Choreographer: Roman Berry.

2016-12-19 10:43:54