THEATRE REVIEW: ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ – Clandon Wood Natural Burial Site, Guildford. (British Touring Shakespeare)

THEATRE REVIEW: ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ – Clandon Wood Natural Burial Site, Guildford  (British Touring Shakespeare)

One of my favourite ever ‘HOUND’ dramatisations had taken place in a graveyard, so when Guildford Fringe announced an open-air production in the Clandon Wood Natural Burial Site presented by British Touring Shakespeare, this seemed a good first step to seeing Sherlockian performances in person rather than online. The original performance at 2pm being sold out, an additional 5.30pm performance was put on, which I managed to get a ticket for. So it was that after my Sunday lunch, I caught a train to Clandon and made my way to the Natural Burial Site, for my 52nd HOUND.  [Click here for an overview of the others]

Finding a place to put my blanket, and having scanned a QR code to get an electronic programme, I settled in for my afternoon’s entertainment. The audience was in two blocks, with a clearly defined aisle between, which within the first five minutes of the play the terrified Sir Charles Baskerville (Mark Beauchamp, who returned later as his nephew, Sir Henry) ran up screaming. It was then time for the introduction of our heroes, with Tom Thornhill’s Holmes costume being reminiscent of the Tenth Doctor with a brown inverness cape rather than an overcoat. Our narrator as ever was Watson (in the person of a bearded Stephen Purbeck Howarth). Dr. Mortimer (played by Andrew Hobbs, who also directed and co-wrote the script with his father, naval historian and author, David Hobbs MBE) then attended the Baker Street rooms, wisely summarising the legend of the Hound, and it was not until they all walked back up the aisle, and I turned my head to follow them that I realised that the collapsed body of Sir Charles was still there ready to be examined.

The story unfolded at a good pace, and with a running time of just over two hours, very little was left out from the novel. Also, unlike most productions I have seen recently there was a reasonably sized cast (6 men, 3 women), so doubling up was greatly reduced. I must make special mention of Jay Joel, whose performances as butler Barrymore and the often written-out Frankland stole the show. I also enjoyed Ben Howarth as Stapleton. Even the Musical Director, Alistair Smith, as well as playing the musical score, popped up in three minor parts. The fact that their Sir Henry had a beard required a slight rewrite, but otherwise it was all very canonical. Even a few showers of rain did not spoil the afternoon. Recommended.

This production continues to tour through August and September 2021. Click here to see future dates.

Rating:    (5/5)