A Note from the Author of Baskerville

Baskerville is an adventure story laced with comedy.  Like all the remarkable Sherlock Holmes stories by Conan Doyle, it walks a careful line between the seriousness of the mystery story at the heart of the tale and the lighter soul of the classic mystery genre.  Conan Doyle was a genius in the way he juggled the elements of  thriller, mystery, romance and comedy, and this play attempts to do the same. 

In Baskerville, I’ve tipped the scales a bit in the direction of comedy, particularly in light of all the doubling.  But please keep in mind that this tipping of the scales means all the more that the acting and the production should be approached with the intensity and truth of a serious thriller.  The characters must seem just as real as they would in any mystery-thriller, and the story must be told with real heart.  Comedy for its own sake must be resisted, especially in a play like this one, where the temptations to do otherwise will be great.  It is a story of adventure and inspiration we have come to see, and we will do Conan Doyle honor if we play this story for all it’s worth.