The Hound of the Baskervilles at Belgrade Theatre Coventry - Review

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Tue 08 Feb 2022 - Sat 12 Feb 2022

With the success of shows like The 39 Steps and The Play That Goes Wrong, there's a renewed love of farce in theatre, so this re-working of Arthur Conan Doyle's mystery The Hound of the Baskervilles certainly comes to the stage at the right time.

Currently showing at the Belgrade Theatre Coventry, the production takes the original story and gives it a new twist – with the aim of making audiences laugh.

A cast of just three take on all of the roles, running through rapid costume changes, swapping accents and shape-shifting so that women are playing men and men are playing women. And this craziness all adds to the humour.



Written by Steven Canny and John Nicholson, the show begins with a single character on stage – Sir Charles Baskerville, who is just about to meet his death. But is his heart attack purely natural or has it been brought on by something more sinister?

When Sir Charles' heir, Sir Henry, arrives at the isolated manor home on the misty and boggy Dartmoor, Sherlock Holmes is called on to ensure Sir Henry too doesn't fall victim to the hound of the Baskervilles.



Niall Ransome is a veteran of the Mischief school of comedy so has comic timing and audience interaction down to a fine art. He is our link into the show, the one who gives us the nod and our friend among all the madness.

There is a bond between him and Holmes, played by Jack Ferretti complete with pipe and deerstalker. Ferretti also takes on a host of different roles which sees him donning and removing wigs, beards and frocks at lightning speed.

Serena Manteghi plays a hale and hearty Sir Henry, who seems blithely unaware of the dangers around him as he gamely heads off into the moors at all hours of the day and night.

This Original Theatre Company production was first directed by Lotte Wakeham at the Octagon Theatre Bolton last year before going on tour, directed by Tim Jackson. While waiting in the foyer I overheard a conversation about someone who had already been to see the show six times. If it can generate enthusiasm of that level, this may be another farce that will run and run.

Playing at the Belgrade Theatre Coventry until Feb 12, see www.belgrade.co.uk/events/the-hound-of-the-baskervilles for tickets.

#comedy
#humour
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#theatre -reviews
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#february
!date 08/02/2022 -- 12/02/2022
%wnbirmingham