The Hound of the Baskervilles - Fortune Theater.
The new play at the Fortune is a spectacular spoof on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's still-popular novel of the same name.
Written by Steven Canny and John Nicholson, it features Holmes, Watson and plenty of Conan Doyle mystery.
Staging challenges posed by plot elements such as train journeys, foggy moors and ghastly howling are ingeniously turned to comic advantage, and the play is to some extent self-reflexive - the three actors' primary roles are those of three actors barely coping with the task of presenting a demanding play with minimal resources.
Sometimes they address the audience directly, harangue them about cellphone usage and, at the beginning of the second act, subject everyone to a hilariously condensed version of everything that's happened so far, just in case anyone isn't quite up to speed.
Broad caricatures, anachronisms such as texting and intentional costume deficiencies, including the worst fake beard you've ever seen, add to the sense of melodrama.
To produce this multilayered effect while telling a convoluted story with multiple characters and keeping everyone laughing takes enormous skill, and Patrick Davies (who has somehow also managed to direct this madness), Nick Dunbar and Simon Leary display the speed, agility, precise timing, lightning costume changes and comic expertise needed to rescue the tale from the ever-present threat of crashing disaster.
A clever set featuring versatile pieces that can be adapted to outdoor and indoor settings (Peter King and Richard Clark), splendid costuming (Maryanne Wright-Smyth) and atmospheric lighting (Stephen Kilroy) build the impression of late-Victorian absurdity.
This is good, barmy fun. The production will appeal to anyone who enjoyed 2010's The Thirty-nine Steps, needs a dose of midwinter mayhem or just likes a good laugh. It will play in Dunedin until September 5 and tour Otago and Southland from September 8-10.
By Barbara Frame
