Performed at The Albany Theatre, Coventry, Saturday 08 March 2026.
Sherlock Holmes entertains an audience with memories of The Hound of the Baskervilles
How can a well-known story, as most Sherlock Holmes stories are, be presented differently and yet stay true to the plot? The theatre cannot call on the increasingly elaborate special effects available to cinema and television. However, we were at An Evening with Sherlock Holmes, in which in a retrospective mood as he recounted from his memoires the case of The Hound of the Baskervilles.
This was not a play in the traditional sense, but story telling in which the talented Jonathan Goodwin introduced us to eight characters. There was almost no action. Different mannerisms and gestures and voices evoked the characters. Yet we were gripped.
The distressed and agitated Mortimer, friend of the recently dead Sir Charles Baskerville, introduced the narration. Recently called from America, Henry Baskerville arrived as the heir to the title and estate. Jonathan had a believable east coast American accent whenever Henry was speaking, with complementary impatience.
Some characters only appeared once. The driver of the Hansom cab was suitably authentic cockney with mannerisms to match, whilst we could visualise the country gent who was clearly a retired colonel fond of a glass of sherry. Barrymore was the butler whose brother-in-law had escaped from the local prison and was hiding on the moors. Jonathan conveyed Barrymore’s pleading and vulnerability as he tried to protect his wife who had been aiding the escapee.
In the central part of the recounting, Watson, who had been dispatched to Devon, was the prominent character. The only costume change throughout was Watson donning a bowler hat and scarf.
Jonathan engaged with the audience at times with rhetorical questions and occasional humorous remarks as he portrayed Holmes’ aloofness and conceit at his own intelligence. The simple set of a chair and an occasional table with a few props and the lighting and narration ideally communicated the tension. The sound effect of a distant dog howling was perfect to evoke chills in this Victorian gothic thriller as the fog closed in on the dark moorland. This was an enjoyable evening, cleverly and confidently performed which deserved a larger audience.