Reaseheath College A Midsummer Night's Dream open air show

By Joy Cassidy
Once again Reaseheath College in Nantwich provided the perfect backdrop for Chapterhouse Theatre Company’s latest production, Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles.

With a good turn out of happy picnickers to watch the outdoor production, the atmosphere was as relaxed and jovial as one would expect from a balmy Summer’s evening.

And then we were confronted with, perhaps the most famous of detectives (created by Arthur Conan Doyle) and his sidekick Doctor Watson on the eerie moors of Dartmoor, to solve the mysterious death of Charles Baskerville and avert the impending danger on his daughter Henrietta Baskerville.

Interlaced with the superstitious tale of the curse of ‘the hound’ who’s howls echoed around the gardens, the story unfolds with all the intrigue, drama and tension that always comes with the ‘whodunnit’ format of Sherlock’s tales.

That’s not to say that the six member cast did anything to quash the relaxed and jovial mood of the theatre-goers, the banter between Sherlock and Watson was spot-on and even Mrs Watson got involved in the charade.

There was slapstick humour, audience interaction, and even the Hound itself got a few titters as it bounded out from backstage, eyes burning and teeth sharp.

A thoroughly enjoyable evening, with clever casting and a great adaptation by Laura Turner.

Chapterhouse House Theatre are back at Reaseheath on August 10 with Pride and Prejudice (also adapted by Laura Turner) to celebrate 200 years since Austen wrote the novel. Highly recommended.

 

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