Review: THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, The Lowry - UK tour

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle solidified his place in the history of English literature by creating detective Sherlock Holmes, one of the most iconic fictional characters to have ever existed, and one of the most popular of Conan Doyle’s 60 stories featuring the famous detective is The Hound of the Baskervilles. 

This literary classic was originally adapted for stage by Steven Canny and John Nicholson back in 2007 for theatre company Peepolykus but was revived in the summer of 2021 at the Octagon Theatre Bolton, thanks to the theatre’s Artistic Director and show’s director Lotte Wakeham.  The success of the production at The Octagon led to a collaboration with the Original Theatre Company so that the show could embark on a national tour.

The Hound of the Baskervilles tells the tale of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson trying to unravel the mystery behind the suspicious circumstances of the death of Sir Charles Baskerville whilst also attempting to save Sir Henry – the heir to the Baskerville fortune and estate – from facing the same fate out on the moors of Dartmoor where the frightful cursed hound lurks.

The way in which Canny and Nicholson have adapted the original novel to bring The Hound of the Baskervilles to the stage is unconventional, yet incredibly inventive as they have transformed Conan Doyle’s dark, dramatic story into a hilariously quirky farcical comedy without having to sacrifice the storytelling.  As if the script itself wasn’t funny enough, this adaptation has been written for the plethora of characters from the novel to be played by just three actors so the multi-rolling with countless costume changes and breaking of “the fourth wall” of theatre simply adds to the humour.

A small but mighty cast of three for the tour is composed of Jake Ferretti, Serena Manteghi and Niall Ransome.  Each of the performers take on many roles throughout the play, but the main three characters featured are Sherlock Holmes (Ferretti), Dr. Watson (Ransome) and Sir Henry (Menteghi).  The chemistry between the trio of actors is tremendous and their performances, both as individuals and as a company are phenomenal.  Each of them gets the opportunity to showcase their acting range through multi-rolling and they all demonstrate excellent comedic timing and are extremely expressive in both face and body.

Comedic moments are incessant in every aspect of the performance, be it the cast’s delivery of the dialogue, their physicalisation of actions, the use of props and sound effects.  One production element which really stands out for all of the right reasons is the lighting design by Derek Anderson; The lighting is used effectively to both portray the eeriness of the moors in the story and heighten the light-hearted comedy of the play just that extra little bit more.

This Sherlock Holmes whodunnit is pure creative genius and comedy gold that’ll give you non-stop laughter.  And as for “whodunnit”, we implore you to make an appointment to see Mr Holmes himself investigate the case of The Hound of the Baskervilles.

***** Five stars

Reviewed by: Jess Dalloway

The Hound of the Baskervilles plays at the Lowry in Salford until 5 February (with tickets available here), before continuing its UK tour.