Hound of the Baskervilles delights

Hound of the Baskervilles delights

The Hound of the Baskervilles, Tuesday 8th to Saturday 12th May, Exeter Northcott 7:30pm
Saturday matinee 2:30pm

By Jenna Richards

Was it a play…? Was it a film…? I wasn’t quite sure! But one thing I was certain of was that the visuals for the production of Hound of the Baskervilles at Exeter Northcott were incredible.

The set, described by visual arts collective Imitating the Dog as ‘a giant box of ticks on stage’ appeared to have multiple projections. Much of the Holmes’ detective action took place in rooms created inside a giant box. The clever use of projections fabricated different wallpapers and windows, and even the weather and trees blowing outside the projected glass.

A second projection set the scene outside the ‘rooms’ from a foggy moor to the grand entrance of a manor house, train carriages and even the moving scenery as viewed from inside the carriage.

The opportunities were endless and the effect was truly impressive, like nothing else I have seen on stage. For me it was an enticing peek into what the future may hold as the boundaries between stage and screen are crossed and blurred.

The imagery blended effortlessly with the action, bringing to life smog filled Victorian London and the menacing night-time expanses of Dartmoor. The actors, who all performed brilliantly, were completely immersed in the virtual world created around them and the audience soon followed suit.

Hound of the Baskervilles, the most popular of the Sherlock Holmes adventures, sees the Baker Street detective trying to solve the mystery of the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. When he is found dead on the wild Devon moorland with the footprints of a giant hound nearby an ancient family curse is blamed. But it is down to Holmes and his trusty sidekick Dr Watson to solve the legend of the Hound of the Baskervilles before Sir Charles’ heir meets and equally horrific end.

This was a stunning production from the Oldham Coliseum Theatre of one of the greatest stories of the 20th century and well worth a trip to the theatre – even if you just go along to check out the impressive visual imagery!