Review: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Original Theatre and Octagon Theatre Bolton

Original Theatre and Octagon Theatre Bolton’s production of The Hound of the Baskervilles is now around half-way through its tour of 15 regional theatres, with Ipswich, Salisbury, Nottingham, Bath, Salford, Coventry, Perth and Aberdeen still to play through to late February 2022.

The production, originally directed by Lotte Wakeham, is an energetic three-hander in the style of other highly successful productions of recent years such as The 39 Steps and Jeeves and Wooster in ‘Perfect Nonsense’. It makes excellent use of mime and sound effects, impressively speedy costume changes and exaggerated comic performances to re-cast the well-known Sherlock Holmes story as a farcical romp which would, I’d say, be particularly well received by Key Stages 2 and 3.

While the production bills itself as ‘a whodunnit for all ages’ I felt the lack of a healthy smattering of young people in the audience the night I saw the show in Richmond. There were titters from the socially-distanced audience of older people, but with a school party in, I think watching the production would have been an experience with more zing. That said, the cast of Jake Ferretti, Serena Manteghi and Niall Ransome gave it their all – with Manteghi standing out particularly in her versatility and the technical brilliance of her comic performance.

There is lots to be gained by sharing this production with students. For Key Stages 2 and 3 it really captures the joy of live theatre – this is the sort of performance that exemplifies what can be done best on stage, and they’d love it.

For Key Stage 4 and 5 there is lots to inspire: storytelling with minimal set; creative re-purposing of those few items of set used; highly effective sound design and use of sound effects in particular, as well as lighting and atmosphere (healthy use of smoke machines for Dartmoor and the Grimpen Mire); and a host of expertly executed performance techniques such as multi-roling with the attendant physicality and accents, mime, quick-fire tableaux, and so on. This would be great inspiration for older students looking to devise something short, carefully and technically rehearsed, and effective for a younger audience.

The Hound of the Baskervilles is touring until 26 February 2022. Full details of remaining theatres, and the production, can be found at www.originaltheatre.com/our-productions/the-hound-of-the-baskervilles