Radio Brought to life on Stage

Posted on 18th March 2024

The Crime and Comedy Theatre Company benefit from a number of familiar faces (and voices) to draw in an audience, with Colin Baker – best known for his playing of the Doctor during the classic era – one of the main draws for their adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles. He was joined on stage by Terry Molloy, who played Mike Tucker on the Archers for forty eight years, though judging by the Who themed chatter I overheard in the audience, he will always be Davros to some.

The rest of the cast wore several hats, something made possible through the central conceit of the show, which is that we were watching a live radio broadcast. Quite apart from solving the practical problem of staging the misty moors and the eponymous dog, it afforded stage manager Claire Milner, the opportunity to test the foley skills. Wind machines were turned, coconut shells clattered, maps were unfolded – all while the cast nipped back and forth show casing different accents. Molloy played Watson in classic style, providing the backbone of a story that required him to act as both narrator and protagonist. Anyone familiar with Conan Doyle’s source novel will know Holmes is curiously absent for much of time. For this faithful adaptation, it did mean Baker’s Sherlock was absent too, and that was a pity, as Colin Baker stamped his own authority on the character. Any thoughts of Benedict Cumberbatch or Basil Rathbone were quickly set aside.

We did get to see Baker in a supporting role too, and it was good to see him join in the fun. For all the pulling power of TV names – Dee Sadler’s work on the box was also emphasised –  this was fundamentally an ensemble production, with Kate Ashmead’s contribution (she played countless characters) just as important as director Martin Parson’s neat adaptation and direction.