The loyal but dim-witted Dr John Watson and his long-suffering mentor Sherlock Holmes.

What ho! Sound of the Baskervilles director Ros here, with an exciting (and excited) update on the Edinburgh Fringe’s only Sherlock Holmes/Agatha Christie crossover spoof murder mystery farce, with songs!

The cast has been cast, the script has been edited, and last weekend saw [almost] all of these vital ingredients come together for their first marinading at the initial readthrough, held in that bastion of theatrical culture, the Cambridge Wetherspoons.

My marvellous assistant Harry Ullman and I watched and listened with delight as the words of our splendiferous writer/stage manager Carrie Chambers came to life in the mouths of our wonderful cast! Everyone’s character was spot on, from the evil, scheming Miss Marple, through the distracted upper-class matriarch of Baskerville Hall, to the comic dynamic between Holmes and Watson (Phil Scott and Gareth Smith, shown above, practising their quasi-parent/child relationship…)

Harry and I were thrilled with the result and it seems clear that with a cast like that, our directorial job will be a piece of cake! Next stage on our exciting journey will be a swordfighting and choreography workshop led by the multitalented Gareth… watch this space for the first images of the thrilling musical fencing setpiece!