The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles

A fast-paced multi-role-madness take on the classic Sherlock Holmes story, at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick.

If you’ve looked at this website for more than 5 seconds you’ll probably know that I love comedy. If you know me well, you’ll know that I like really silly comedy. Another detail to add is that I just love multi-role small cast comedies. So, when it was announced that there was going to be a new production of The Hound of the Baskervilles the ‘small’ hurdle of it being 5 hours of a drive away started to shrink.

Another reason that I really wanted to see this show is that the company I work for, Original Theatre, produced a version of this show in 2021/22. Until recently it was also available to stream in their digital theatre - Original Online - and it is (so far) my favourite thing I’ve seen of theirs, so I was extra excited to see this new version.

Phwoar. More theatres should be placed next to lakes like this, I reckon.

I set off on the road at 7am, frankly an ungodly hour for me, and drove to Keswick. The drive itself was a lovely adventure, and I have found a new favourite road - the A66 - which is a beautiful storybook full of landscapes and rollercoaster hills. I arrived at the lake, of “Theatre by the” fame, with some time to explore and take in the stunning vistas. Phwoar.

I had lucked out with finding a single seat available on the row in the stalls with an aisle in front - my leg room prayers need not be cast today - but I was not so lucky to have someone next to me who aggressively commandeered both arm rests and took it upon himself to try to complete some of the jokes in the show - grrr, but at least he was having a good time too I suppose.

The show didn’t have much to reveal as the audience arrived, with a darkened gauze bearing only a small projected title to welcome us in. Jaunty music was playing, and the matinee crowd gleefully shuffled in. Nice to see an auditorium as full as this, too. This show is one that isn’t afraid to play around with traditional theatre archetypes - as indeed is the case with all of Steven Canny and John Nicholson’s works, I gather - and it starts with a very nice welcome, introducing the cast and setting up some of the action to follow later.

The stage at the end of the show, revealing more of the beautiful colours than we could see at the start.

Obviously being a huge fan of the show already, I knew a lot of what was to come, but it was a nice little surprise for me to see that even in these opening minutes the expectation I had was already to be subverted. I also didn’t know that this new staging features a revolve, so that was a lovely little reveal in itself too. If you’re looking for a detailed rendition of the Sherlock Holmes story, this is not it, but as best I can intuit it does carry through a lot of the elements of the novel, though obviously transposing them to make for as many laughs as possible.

The staging is simple, with a lot made out of a little. Sherlock’s desk later becomes a steam room and a steam train, for example, and I really enjoyed how deftly the coat rack transformed into a streetlamp with a very precisely placed fly in of the lamp section. The set overall is very colourful, a stark contrast to the previous version which was very muted in browns and dark blues - no bad thing - but it was nice to see the brightness here. A few extra flats, a very ambidextrous door and a flying fireplace were all that was needed to transport us to any of the locations required, from the grand Baskerville Hall to the horrible Grimpen Mires. It was also great to see the full stage setup being used throughout, with the back wall providing handy movement space, and the front apron hosting a few of the stranger meetings.

Onto the cast, a key element in three actor shows such as this. They were all an absolute delight, and for a show so physically demanding they all handled their roles wonderfully. I also really enjoyed seeing the stage crew coming on in fitting costumes, and getting involved with some of the scenes - it’s very nice to have their important work highlighted.

Dave Hearn, who is obviously very well known for his comic abilities thanks to his roles in various Mischief Theatre work over the years, shines in the role of Sherlock Holmes, and all the other parts he plays in fact, whether Sherlock is ‘cunningly’ disguised underneath them or not. In the second half he gets to flex his improv muscles too, reacting brilliantly to a young fan sat in the front row without breaking stride. He is given the most to do in terms of costume changes, and definitely steps up to the plate very well indeed. Admittedly, I am a huge fan of Dave’s work, and thanks to his involvement with another Original Theatre show, The Time Machine, I’ve had opportunity to work with him a little bit too so he was a lot of the reason for this visit, but he is only one third of this brilliant trio.

One of the official production photos of all three cast members together.

Helena Antoniou plays Dr Watson, and as he is more present throughout the story she does get the least to do in terms of switching roles, but she is eminently enjoyable in the roles so it’s no detraction. In this version of the story, Watson is a bit more bumbling than he is usually presented, but here that just means it’s even easier for the audience to get on board with the character. Helena clearly has comedy in her veins because her timing is excellent, and she throws herself into the physical elements of this show beautifully.

Katy Daghorn completes the three with her main role as Sir Henry Baskerville and quite a few of the smaller roles peppered throughout too. She grabs the show with both hands as the suave yet naiive Sir Henry, bringing a very loveable side out of a character who could be dismissed as just another rich toff. Katy has had some experience with the ‘Goes Wrong’ catalogue of Mischief shows and that plays very well into her roles here too, with speed and grace to handle the fast paced changes needed here seemingly effortlessly.

The show is full of genius, some notable highlights for me were the series of “classic misunderstandings” and the simply spectacular sleep scene where Katy and Helena changed places in blackouts with incredible speed. Even the writers’ signature “kinell!” isn’t that grating in this usage where it does usually stand out a bit for me. I would say that the turntable doesn’t add a lot, it’s nice to have, but isn’t really needed in my view. It does make for a very nice train sequence, but it’s very minimally used in Act Two and it doesn’t suffer for its lack. Speaking of Act Two, the opening scene is a phenomenal way to return to the action, and even knowing it’s coming doesn’t diminish its sheer joy. I shan’t be specific, only to say that if you thought act one was pacey you ain’t seen nuthin yet.

Helena and Dave (and Katy) get plenty of opportunities to show off their scared faces.

It was quite nice to see that the script has been updated quite a bit since the last outing, and though some of the modernisms did seem a touch out of place, the younger ones in the audience clearly enjoyed their inclusions. The ending has also been reworked a little so that it’s a bit less sudden - that was a major criticism in my view of the last version, but this one handles it much more succinctly. It’s still over rather too quickly, but at least it has more to say for the story now.

So, overall, what do you get with this show? Two hours of fast-paced fun, laughs aplenty, physical dexterity, charming stage craft and a great time all round.

The trio received rapturous applause at their bows, and rightly so, they had definitely earned it. Everyone in the audience had a great time, myself included. Dave was tasked with interrupting the applause to talk about the theatre’s fundraising efforts, championing the work that they do for the community and for the arts in general.

Show aside, I’m so pleased that I had an opportunity to visit this absolutely gorgeous theatre, every single member of staff I interacted with was brilliant, and it’s clear they all care passionately for the place and its work. I went to the front desk to say as much, and was invited to take a look at an exhibition which until then I had not realised was happening upstairs. A gorgeous treasure trove of the theatre’s history, and tributes from audiences and creatives alike. I obviously didn’t have much time to browse, wanting to get back onto the road, but it was so lovely to see.

Back to The Hound of the Baskervilles though, and my hound rating is a very clear:

🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶 / 5

Performances continue until Sat 14 Sep, if you’re local - or like me, not-so-local - get yourself along for a high-energy treat.
Find out more and book tickets at www.theatrebythelake.com

Production photos by Hugo Glendinning.

One last photo of the lake. So gorgeous. What my phone's panoramic function was made for.