Even the most traditional Sherlock Holmes fan would struggle not to laugh at this stupendous adaptation, which features a lovable trio with contagious energy who take on fourteen roles between them. Rating
Excellent
Inner Voice Theatre’s debut project sees them putting a spin on one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous cases. The Hound of the Baskervilles, celebrating its 125th anniversary, is the tale of a young heir who must confront the very fear that drove his uncle to death. Sherlock Holmes is hired to protect him and expose the truth behind a seemingly unstoppable supernatural creature. And now, this tale of psychological horror and supreme sleuthing has been transposed into the world of camp farce!
It helps that the enchanting mystery plays out in the depths of the fantastic King’s Head Theatre. Lying four stories underground, it would be a strong contender for the world’s glitziest nuclear bunker.
And it needs to be durable too, for Steven Clarke’s production throws pretty much everything at the wall to see what will stick! One has to admire the relentless thirst for slapstick and innuendo. Not all the jokes land, but crucially the play never feels like it’s fishing for compliments or trying to be self-important.
The show has a lot of fun with the various Dartmoor side characters, referred to as the “indigenous population” by Holmes. They’re mostly played by Gabe Willem, who skips from role to role alongside co-star Robert Carden.
The only person who doesn’t change parts is Ezra Clarke, who guides us through the action as Sherlock’s sidekick Dr. John Watson. It’s refreshing that we get to see the story almost exclusively through his eyes. And of course, through his frequent inability to keep up with Holmes, Watson embodies a great comedic potential.
Surprisingly, it’s often the goofy and predictable sound effects that really make this show stand out. I will stand by this: there is never any harm in following up a ‘dum dum duuuum…’ with a ‘boing’. That the characters are blatantly aware of them makes the effects all the more enjoyable.
There are one or two tired cliches used by the all-male team. The production seems keen to convey the lack of depth Conan Doyle gives female characters, but they could have used this as an opportunity to give them more of an impetus. Instead, they are made overdrawn damsels in distress. The final reveal also gets lost in certain tropes, and is perhaps not quite as satisfying as it could be.
For a joke-a-minute retelling though, such mistakes are largely forgivable. It’s hard not to love Carden’s Sherlock, where even a raised eyebrow can send the audience into rapture. Ezra Clarke effortlessly leans into the buffoonery laid out in Steven Canny and John Nicholson’s script. It does help that our hapless protagonist (and I mean absolutely no offence here) looks like Keir Starmer and sounds like Boris Johnson. If that to you doesn’t sound like a recipe for parody gold then this really isn’t the show for you.
This version of The Hound of the Baskervilles could be slicker at times, but it has real charm and some proper laugh-out-loud gags. Sometimes the best way to immortalise classic texts is to completely take the piss out of them. For Inner Voice, that task is utterly elementary.
Written by Steven Canny and John Nicholson
Based on the story by Arthur Conan Doyle
Directed by Steven Clarke
The Hound of the Baskervilles plays at the King’s Head Theatre until Saturday 10 October.
