By Paul Bromley
If you’ve ever been to one of Eastbourne Theatres summer productions before, you’ll know what to expect.
If you’ve never been to one of Eastbourne Theatres summer productions before, you’re about to experience the unexpected.
The Hound of the Baskervilles follows in the footsteps (or rather pawprints) of previous shows such as The Invisible Man and The 39 Steps.
The formula is a simple one: the production team take a well-known classic story, keep the basic plot but rewrite it into a fast-paced comedy to shoehorn the maximum number of sight gags, punchlines and physical laughs into two hours of theatre.
The atmosphere of a bleak Dartmoor with its mires and rocky landscape is created from the moment you take your seats. The raked stage (below), which slopes up from the audience, has been extended to spill out over the orchestra pit to give the scenery both depth and width. An audio track of owls hooting, bells tolling and horses’ hooves clattering fills the auditorium.
The story begins with the death of Sir Charles Baskerville – a brilliant piece of mime by actor Tom Richardson to accompanying sound effects.
Just as you start to settle in to the production, the performers break the fourth wall and come out of character to provide their own introductions and a welcome. I found this jarring and discordant – it was only later in the show that the reason for this unconventional style became clear.
The three actors are Andrew Pollard (playing Sherlock Holmes and many other roles), Tom Richardson (playing Sir Henry Baskerville and many other roles) and Eastbourne Theatres favourite Ben Roddy (playing Dr Watson and … you’ve guessed it … many other roles). Yes, it’s just three actors who are either on stage performing or backstage changing costume throughout the show.
The production then resumes as the story of the curse on the Baskerville family is told and Holmes and Watson travel to Dartmoor to investigate.
I saw the opening show and there were some obvious minor first-night troubles such as, on occasions, the actors talking over each other.
‘Scene changes are handled brilliantly’
But that was more than compensated for by the outstanding performances by all three performers.
The sets are ingenious with minimal props serving multiple uses – who knew a box with a back flap could be a steam room, a hansom cab and a train compartment? In the hands of the Eastbourne Theatres production and design team, combined with the acting skills of the cast, all this is possible – and more.
The scene changes are handled equally brilliantly with the slick moving of items on and off stage and any gaps are covered with appropriate music or dance routines – it all adds to the pace of the production.
Sherlock Holmes’s well-documented ability to disguise himself and inhabit different characters is exploited by Andrew Pollard to full comic effect as costume change after costume change and character after character appear before us – often to the bafflement and confusion of Dr Watson.
The relationship between Holmes and Watson is not the traditional one of master detective and assistant. Ben Roddy as Watson is more fool than foil as the pair seek answers to the strange happenings on the moor.
‘The scenes are not laugh-a-minute, more like laugh-a-second‘
It is at the start of the second half that the earlier decision to break out of character makes sense. The farcical 10-15 minutes are some of the funniest moments I have seen on stage – the laughs just keep coming.
The cast work incredibly hard but it is obvious they are having fun too and enjoy the laughs alongside the audience.
The pace quickens with characters coming on and off stage with such frequency that there is no time for full costume changes. This just adds to the sense of the show fitting in to the genre of ‘farcical thriller’.
The scenes with the window frame/picture frame are well worth looking out for. They are not laugh-a-minute, more like laugh-a-second.
Not surprisingly, the detective duo eventually solve the case and return to the comfort of Baker Street.
There’s no mystery as to why these shows have become so popular. A traditional story with a comic twist combined with top acting make it a formula which is guaranteed success.
:: The Hound of the Baskervilles is at the Devonshire Park Theatre until Saturday, 31 August
:: Eastbourne Theatres provided the reviewer’s ticket
