Sherlock Holmes' Hound of the Baskervilles by Castle Players @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop

A good old fashioned thriller for a cold winter’s night.

Way back before the advent of TV, wannabee celeb shows and million channel digital networks, local amateur theatre was the mainstay of Saturday evening entertainment for the majority of people. Performers, cast and crew were members of ‘Am Dram’ who, for weeks before, had practised and rehearsed their lines whilst running the local post office, teaching at the village school or delivering milk & bread. Performances were usually given in the village hall, with its own soundtrack of creaking beams and whistling windows added to heavy tobacco smoke to give an extra frisson to the atmosphere (especially when the show was a good old fashioned ghost story or thriller).  Whilst audiences didn’t expect RSC or Doyle Carte standard, they felt a ‘oneship’ with those on stage and as such forgave the wobbly scenes and oft fluffed lines.  I thought that such shows were now consigned to the social history books but on Saturday I took a step back in time and watched a retelling of the famous Sherlock Holmes story, The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Barnard Castle’s renowned The Castle Players.

This production, which is currently touring around Teesdale during January, was delivered on the very small stage at Scarth Hall, Staindrop, yet, with minimal use of props, sound and lighting, was a captivating example of good story telling.  Directed by Sarah Fells and Chris Best, and with a surprisingly large cast of over 14 Players (quite how they all managed to get on stage at the same time is still a bit of a mystery), the story opened with a riveting monologue by Andy Moorhouse who, in recounting the initial Baskerville legend, set the tone for the night before bringing the audience into Baker Street and of course Sherlock Holmes (played with a mix of excitable genius and dismissive disdain by Steven Bainbridge).  Interestingly, for a Holmes story, it is Dr Watson who takes the majority of the lead in this production and Andrew Stainthorpe was cool, calm and very accomplished in the role – with more than a passing resemblance to Higgins from TV’s Magnum, he excellently maintains the detective element in the story in the absence of the Deerstalkered one.

There were a few occasions where the directors seemed to play to the lowest possible audience intelligence – literally signposting the scenes (including ‘FOG’) was more off putting than helpful and appeared a easy out instead of devoting a little more effort into
the set dressing, after all, there are only so many places one can put their only hatstand.  

Likewise, the use of newly bought bright blue clip boards (not the norm for 19^th century London) left a few puzzled faces in the audience. The script, edited and abridged by Jill Cole was on the whole, very good, though some of the carefully built intensity and atmosphere was lost when the cast were allowed to drop into almost pantomime comedy.  That said, as entertainment goes, the whole evening was most certainly a great night out and far better than anything being offered on the hundreds of TV channels.

Sherlock Holmes is undergoing a bit of a renaissance, especially with the excellent BBC series making a return this month complete with clever graphics and elaborate plots, but this version was very much more in tune with the original tales and delivered with an honesty and genuine enjoyment – a great step back in time both on & off the stage.

Castle Players' As You Like It @ Bowes Museum

All the world's a stage", as Shakespeare wrote, and following last weeks production of one of the Bard's most famous, and funniest plays, The Castle Players proved yet again that not only is the world a stage, so is a garden, a tree and a muddy patch of lawn. This year it's "As You Like It", a very funny story of cross & double cross, hidden identities, requited and unrequited love all written with 'Old Will's' humorous quill in hand.

Despite the horrendous weather we have suffered over the past 6 weeks, this few, this happy few, (this band of brothers?) have toiled to ensure that they would not be outdone by rain, wind and mud and thus the annual summer production could go ahead.  Rehearsing in temporary accommodation was one thing, but when the dress rehearsals and stage setting had to be done under the threat of torrential downpours even the most stoic of supporters must have cast a disbelieving eye towards the opening night. But what is a bit of mud & rain when the thrill of performing awaits (and a hot shower and warming toddy afterwards).

The stage was set within the grounds of the iconic Bowes Museum on the rear lawn with the 

canopy of a huge tree providing the lighting rig and centre piece, the castle gardens and walls playing as the backdrop and two grandstand terraces forming the auditorium. 

The production of this show was truly amazing; the costumes, the sets, the inclusion of live sheep (who at times had perfect timing for interrupting the best intended dramatic pauses), the minstrels - everything was perfect and made even more so by being staged outside.  We were very, very lucky to have picked the one fair & fine evening in a month to attend this oasis of culture in a bleak & dreary week so one can only imagine how testing it was for the cast & crew to have battled through on Tuesday & Wednesday when the heavens fell, the ground rose and even the sheep would have looked a little perplexed.

I don't like using the phrase 'Amateur' - it suggests of pitiful attempts at 'doing their best', appreciated only by cast family members and the director who has ideas of grandeur.  This was as far away from an 'amateur' production as you could ever see.  The actors were all immensely dedicated in delivering a performance worthy of the bard's name with very clever casting and obvious enjoyment being had by everyone concerned.  The direction was tight, intuitive and completely at one with ensuring the pace of delivery still allowed time for the audience to unravel the multitude of layers so often present in Shakespeare's comedies.

The use of live minstrel music added an authenticity which created an additional layer, especially as the evening waned and the natural light dimmed.  In fact the setting outside gave an etheral quality which would have been impossible in a traditional theatre.

The lead characters were immediately recognisable, which came from exquisite opening introductions; all too often Shakespearean directors rush headlong into the guts of the play (feeling that they need to seek out the well known phrases to keep the audience on board) and they leave the audience playing catch up.  Simon Pell and Mary Stastny, the directors, ensured that each main character was allowed sufficient time onstage so the audience could easily identify with them.  This made for a much smoother movement through the first act and heightened the second act's humorous subplots, especially as the love interests strengthened and partners wooed and 'shooed' in equal measure. 

Whilst the whole cast were wonderful in their performances, special mention goes out to a few who really caught the eye;  Andy Moorhouse as Jaques was a brilliant tortured soul who reminded me of James Garnon playing James 1st in Anne Boleyn; Laura Pennell who played Celia had such a mischievous glint in her eye throughout the whole play and of course, Peter Cockerill as Silvius the shepherd, who spent the first 2 hours of the evening searching the extensive grounds of Bowes Museum for his 'love' Phoebe.

When you look at the cast list, production team and additional support you can appreciate just how professional (in all but name) this production is -lest we not forget that all these people give of their time, effort, skills, hard work and dedication in the true love of performance - more than a little humbling.

It is clear to see why the Castle Players have been invited to attend and perform for the RSC in Stratford this weekend; there can be few other productions in the country who capture the real essence of The Bard's work with infectious enthusiasm and downright enjoyment.  Congratulations to everyone concerned, you do our region proud.