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The Hound of the Baskervilles: A Comic Thriller Starring Shirley Holmes and Jennie Watson

The Hound of the Baskervilles: A Comic Thriller Starring Shirley Holmes and Jennie Watson

Adapted by Kent R. Brown. Inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel.

Product Code: HA6000

  • Full-length Play
  • Comedy
  • Cast size: 6m., 7w., plus 11 to 40 extras.

    Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

Rights and availability
This title can be licensed and sold throughout the World.

* Please note the royalty rate listed is the minimum royalty rate per performance. The actual royalty rate will be determined upon completion of a royalty application.

$11.95 /script

Min. Royalty Rate: $110/perf

In stock

Synopsis

Sherlock Holmes and his faithful sidekick, Dr. John Watson, have left on an extended holiday throughout Europe, leaving their nieces—Shirley Holmes and Jennie Watson—to keep an eye on the famous flat at 221B Baker Street. Shirley, studying logic, and Jennie, studying medicine, are busy preparing for upcoming exams when there's a knock on the door. It's Dr. Maxine Mortimer and Sir Henry Baskerville, who've come to seek the assistance of the famous Sherlock Holmes. Sir Charles Baskerville has died a mysterious death. Is he the most recent victim of the Curse of the Baskervilles—a curse linked to the nightmarish tales of a supernatural hound that haunts the murky moors of Devonshire? But wait, there's more! The young Sir Henry, the only surviving heir to the Baskerville legacy, has received a threat against his life! Something must be done! There's no time to recall Holmes and Watson from their trip. "We're all you've got," says Shirley. "We're up to the challenge," chimes Jennie. And indeed they are! In this fast-paced adaptation, full of wailing hounds, thundering hooves, and the slithering mists of the moor, Shirley and Jennie follow the trail of evidence and intrigue until, at last, they are confronted by the ravenous Hound itself!

Notes

Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

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Details

  • Status

    In stock

  • Type of Show Full-length Play
  • Product Code HA6000
  • Cast Size 13
  • Min. Royalty Rate $110/perf
  • Cost $11.95
  • Approx. Run Time 90 min

Categories

  • Target Audience Middle School | High School | College and Adult
  • Performing Group Middle School | High School | College Theatre | Community Theatre | Professional Theatre | Dinner Theatre
  • Genre Comedy
  • ISBN(13) 9781583426593
* Please note the royalty rate listed is the minimum royalty rate per performance. The actual royalty rate will be determined upon completion of a royalty application.

Customer Reviews

"This show was great, it had everything we needed to incorporate a large casts while showcasing multiple students."
Review by Brandon Price, Manhattan Middle School, Thornton, Colo.
"I chose the play because it featured a large cast and the script had potential to have a great deal of fun in creating characters and during production. I usually have 30 to 40 students in drama and I never 'cut' anyone, so I always try to find everyone a part to play.

The plot followed that of the original as well as being a bit of a spoof, so it also included an educational component.

The Hound filled every requirement for a school production. The characters were amazing and there are no limits on creativity in developing blocking in the action. The scene with the dead body my young actors had particular fun with, pulling poor Selden in every direction possible.

I would recommend this play to any school looking for a large cast play that allows young actors to stretch their creativity, particularly female actors. In school I tend to have more female actors than male and finding plays that enable them to be front and centre can be difficult. This play has strong female roles which are demanding. The props we used and sound effects also created the 'dark' humor we were looking for. It is probably the best production we have ever done in my fifteen years of volunteering for theatre and drama here at New Germany Rural High School."
Review by Hester Gibson, New Germany Rural High School, New Germany, Nova Scotia, Canada
"I really enjoyed The Hound of the Baskervilles. The script allowed me to showcase the talents of the many strong women in my school. I had more young women than young men auditioning for the play, so this script was perfect. There was a variety of good-sized roles as well as walk-on parts, so there were parts for everyone. Another great thing about the show is that it can be done with little to no set, or with an extensive set design. Brown's script brought the traditional Sherlock Holmes story to a modern audience in a way they can appreciate and enjoy. He breathed new life into an old story. The combination of both laughs and frights makes for a truly unique show."
Review by Chad Gifford, Central Campus High School, Minot, N.D.
"This was our best production to date. Many people walking through the receiving line mentioned that it was excellent and "best yet." One lady said that she hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. A journalist from our local paper gave it a very good review. Really well writtenÑloved Watson's talks with the audience. This play got such good reviews from people last year that they told others. Our audience grew from 150 last year to almost 200 for this year's play. "
Review by Bruce Barker, Faith Christian School, Lake Odessa, Mich.
"A perfect combination of mystery and humor. It was a great fit for our middle school with challenging roles for more experienced actors and plenty of small and mid-sized parts, too."
Review by Denise Careau, Lincoln Public School, Lincoln, Mass.

Hints, Tips, and Tricks

"The script was fast paced with many scene changes and we used actual sign boards to indicate changes of scene, creating more roles and stage time.

The scene with the 'words' also allowed for creative blocking and each word developed a character, including one little word that got lost and had to be coaxed on stage. The audience loved it!"
Tip by Hester Gibson, New Germany Rural High School, New Germany, Nova Scotia, Canada
"For the Hound, I photoshopped an image of a ghostly dog and then projected it onto a backdrop. The image appeared only during the final confrontation with Watson, Holmes and Lestrade. The rest of the lights were dimmed and then, as the actors ran toward the image, it faded away and was replaced by a flickering strobe. Holmes and Watson fought an invisible creature in the strobelit area while Lestrade was briefly illuminated and shooting her gun. Earlier in the show, I also used the projector to put up images of London when the characters are at Holmes's study, and a train puffing along the tracks when the characters were transported on a train. We had to make [our production] work with only two male actors. Many young women were happy to put on a beard and play Selden, Mr. Barrymore, Perkins and Hugo. The script was great for that because I was able to put in all of the extra actors I didn't have roles for as henchmen and townspeople. I also used them to carry the signs in for the scene descriptions as well as the words in the note that Holmes and Watson examine from The Times."
Tip by Chad Gifford, Central Campus High School, Minot, N.D.

Production Map

Location City State Opens Closes
Bob Jones University in Performance Hall Greenville South Carolina 5/10/2024 5/11/2024
Tallulah Falls School Tallulah Falls Georgia 4/25/2024 4/27/2024