The Sign Of Four, with Boots and Coconuts
VERA BELL
Studio 27 in the White Rock seems rapidly to be gaining ground as a Hastings fringe venue for experimental theatre. Two days after the absurdist A Spectacular Interview there was a production of The Sign of Four, the Sherlock Holmes story, brought to life by a small theatre company called Crime and Comedy.
Colin Baker (left) and Terry Molloy
I’ve loved Conan Doyle’s stories forever, read and re-read them and listened to the rather more snappy and abbreviated radio adaptations. But this was a unique take – like a number of contemporary small- company offerings, it called attention to its own mode of production. It could be called, perhaps, a rehearsed reading (like the less elaborate A Spectacular Interview also reviewed on this page) with mature and experienced actors: Colin Baker most people will remember from Doctor Who, and Andrew Molloy has taken part in countless episodes of The Archers, so is used to being a radio star.
Unlike A Spectacular Interview though, this reading was in fact the finished performance. In a kind of inside-out way we saw a streamlined construction of a radio drama, in which the accompanying sound effects were given as much prominence as the character parts. It was the 1890s, so of course there were a lot of horses’ hooves – real coconut shells. There was a miniature door with a bolt that was opened and closed when characters entered and exited, a pair of wellington boots for heavy footsteps, a pair of ladies’ pumps for lighter ones. A modern but indispensable addition was a laptop with a series of sound effects – rain, carriages, dogs, trains, storms, etc. The main effects person, Imogen Jones, a translucently pale actor with a steadfastly expressionless face and unwavering concentration, orchestrated these perfectly. It was like a radio program I once heard that examined the production of radio sound effects. The five speaking actors also played the bit parts, stepping forward to the microphone where necessary. Lighting was adjusted accordingly. Complicated? Slightly. But original, and fun, and a modern way to express what might otherwise turn into something slightly too well-known to be of interest. It was the brainchild of actor/producer Kate Alford – it takes a bit of getting used to,” she remarked to me during the interval while she sold souvenir programs.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this article. The future of our volunteer led, non-profit publication would be far more secure with the aid of a small donation. You can also support local journalism by becoming a friend of HIP. It only takes a minute and we would be very grateful.
Leave a Reply