Gateway Theatre is bringing its season to an end with a mystery masked by comedy or is it a comedy cloaked in mystery? Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery is playing only until April 20th so throw on your deerstalker and make a dash across the moor to catch the slapstick adventures of the famous detective.
Gateway’s Executive Artistic Director Barbara Tomasic directs this fast-paced lark based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed Sherlock Holmes adventure, The Hound of the Baskervilles. Genevieve Fleming and Gerry Mackay play Holmes and his trusted friend and biographer, Dr. Watson and admirably keep the mysterious investigation on track. All around them a cavalcade of nearly 40 more characters from London to Devon are all played by just three actors; Melissa Oei, Mack Gordon and Andrew Cownden, each brilliantly playing a host of main and supporting roles.
Dashing in and out of the many corners of the beautifully atmospheric Victorian-Gothic set, featuring the work of Lighting Designer Kevin Tanner and Sound Designer Steve Marsh, the trio have barely a moment to catch their breathe.
As one might imagine, with 40 characters to play in a 100 minute play, there’s a lot of rapid-fire costume, demeanor, accent changes for Oei, Gordon and Cownden to complete, many of them happening onstage, right before our eyes. To their credit, the quick-changes are as believable as they are comedic.
With so much happening on and off stage, keeping their stature, accents and mannerisms in check was a feat for the audience to follow. It’s not vital to know the origin story, but it helps. Keeping up with the chaos and hijinks taking place while trying to follow the plot can be confusing. Watson occasionally breaks the 4th wall to narrate the action but like any good detective novel, the mystery unfolds to reveal itself by the conclusion. To solve the case of Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, just let the action (and laughs) happen and enjoy the ride, it will all make sense in the end – you’ll have a great time along the way!
Presented in English with Chinese surtitles, Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery plays until April 20th at Gateway Theatre, 6500 Gilbert Road. Richmond. Find showtimes and tickets online at gatewaytheatre.com.