Review: The Hound of the Baskervilles

Originally conceived and written as a parody, Clive Francis’s adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1902 novel retains just enough of the original’s mocking wit to maintain the adventurous nature of the investigation into the legendary spectral hound of the moors.

What gives this 21st- century rendition an added frisson of excitement is the incorporation of occasionally eye-popping, always inventive, never gimmicky, projection courtesy of Yorkshire-based digital specialists Imitating the Dog. This allows Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to skip nimbly from London’s Baker Street to Devonshire’s deadly Grimpen Mire. But The Hound of the Baskervilles is first and foremost a story about character, and principally that of the world’s foremost consulting detective. Director Kevin Shaw never allows Holmes to dominate the plot, just as in the source novel Holmes is absent for much of the action. Thus the narrative is passed to Watson (as in the book) but the telling of the tale is shared with fellow cast members Robin Simpson, Steven O’Neill and Amy Ewbank to propel forward the plot when Holmes is off stage.

Gwynfor Jones plays Sherlock Holmes with a gently sardonic edge, aware of the familiar humour embedded in Conan Doyle’s words as well as the timelessness of Holmes himself. This is an accessible Holmes, unsullied by affectation, and Jones eschews icy aloofness, favouring a mildly scornful air. Leigh Symonds as Watson and Simpson as Sir Henry Baskerville are both largely no-nonsense figures that purists will appreciate.

The first collaboration between LBT and Oldham Coliseum, The Hound of the Baskervilles is a triumph.

To March 17. Harrogate Theatre, April 25-28.