“It came with the wind through the silence of the night, a long, deep mutter, then a rising howl, and then the sad moan in which it died away. Again and again, it sounded, the whole air throbbing with it, strident, wild and menacing.”
With that passage, Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle set the scene for what was to be one of his most iconic and haunting tales of mystery and terror, The Hound of the Baskervilles. It’s a Sherlock Holmes story that has spawned more than 20 feature films and a host of television and stage adaptions.
But when Baskerville – A Sherlock Holmes Mystery takes the stage at the Chemainus Theatre Festival, audiences will be presented with a very different take on the classic tale.
This version of Sherlock Holmes was created by playwright Ken Ludwig and although there’s enough of the Holmes magic to satisfy the most ardent deerstalker-wearing fan, in this version the ingenious solutions to the mystery and the thrilling hunt for the killer comes with some killer comedy.
“The Hound of the Baskervilles has been adapted a lot. But this adaptation has been very popular. And I think it's because this play is special – it's about character. It's about acting, it's about myth, it's about the theatre, it's about theatre magic. And that adds a certain dimension to a story that we all know very well,” Ludwig says.
The adaptation offers the chance to have a little fun with the character, says director Roy Surrette.
At the same time, "it’s a challenging tightrope. We have the Barrymores (the butler and his wife) who are extremely gothic, and Sherlock and Watson, who have to maintain their character and the integrity of the story, but at the same time have some fun with a series of madcap characters who bring a whole new approach to the story. We’re borrowing from a lot of different comedy genres while embracing the gothic mystery. It’s a challenge.”
To say that the actors are challenged is an understatement. While Sherlock Holmes and Watson remain in character, the remaining 38 characters in the play are portrayed by the remaining three cast members whose rapid changes of costume and character provide audiences with a hilarious theatrical experience.
“It can be a little confounding,” Surrette says. There are times when two characters finish one scene and have to be in the next scene as completely different characters. But our cast is so great, they carry it off.”
An equally challenging task for Charlie Gallant, who plays the role of Sherlock in the play. He has the task of remaining in the Sherlock character in the midst of all this mayhem. Gallant is perhaps best known for his work in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, The Strain and Fringe, but this role comes with a very different set of challenges.
“I have to play the character as seriously as I can,” Gallant says. “With a well-known character like this, you can’t bend him to be a comedic character. The qualities that make up Sherlock Holmes have to remain intact.”
Gallant is up for the task, as is Alex Gullason, who is the other constant character as Holme’s companion, Watson. The cast is rounded out by Abraham Asto, Jay Clift and Caitlin Driscoll whose quick-change performances are both memorable and hysterically funny.
“We manage to present Sherlock Holmes in a serious way while maintaining a sense of fun,” Surrette says. “The audience is in for an entertaining time. We’re telling the story with a sense of fun without being too silly or disrespectful to the original classic story.”
The play will run from May 2 to June 1. For tickets and more information on this show and more, visit chemainustheatrefestival.ca.
