The Hound of the Baskervilles at The Kings Arms

The Hound of the Baskervilles at The Kings Arms, Chapel Street, 31 October–25 November 2017, from £12.00 - Book now

Okay, I admit it: I’m a sucker for anything to do with Arthur Conan Doyle. Right now I have by my bed the collected stories of Sherlock Holmes, a book so thick that I use it whenever I need to squeeze a puncture repair patch onto a bicycle inner tube. It could also make a handy weapon in a Doyle-style murder mystery (that is, if I was strong enough to wield it)

So, when I see a well-reviewed production that takes inspiration from the great man’s works I have to include it in the guide. The Hound of the Baskervilles, produced by Northern Rep, is a comic take on the most famous of Holmes’ numerous exploits. Two actors play every single role – no mean feat in a book that contains dozens of differing characters – as they unpack the mystery of the deaths on Dartmoor.

A cheeky, farcical take on a classic of English literature, this is just the sort of thing we love to see on the fringe – fast paced, fun and full of life.