The Barn Theatre in Cirencester has today announced the full cast and creative team of the world premiere production of Toby Hulse & Ross Smith’s play Sherlock Holmes and the Whitechapel Fiend, running at the Cotswold venue from Friday 26 January – Saturday 9 March, with a press performance on Monday 29 January. Drama Desk Award nominee Adam Meggido (Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Showstopper! The Improvised Musical) will direct the production, which marks the first Built By Barn production of the theatre’s 2024 season.
Sherlock Holmes and the Whitechapel Fiend is set in a world in which Conan Doyle’s fictional Victorian London, in an act of wild fantasy, collides with the actual London of 1888 and the Whitechapel Murders. The two-act comedy mercilessly mines the familiar cliches of the Sherlock Holmes stories whilst ruthlessly exposing the lurid press-fuelled fictions of the Jack the Ripper industry.
A brand-new comedy adventure, in which Conan Doyle’s fictional Victorian London collides with the Whitechapel Murders. A hilarious mix of Basil Rathbone, What We Do In The Shadows and The Thirty-Nine Steps, combined with the style of Netflix True Crime documentaries and the technical wizardry of the Barn
Adam Meggido, who co-created and directed the Olivier Award-winning Showstopper! The Improvised Musical and recently received Drama Desk Awards and Outer Critics Circle nominations for his direction of the Broadway transfer of Peter Pan Goes Wrong, will direct the production.
The production’s cast will comprise of Chloe Tannenbaum (Magic Goes Wrong – UK Tour, Machinal – The Orange Tree Theatre), Joseph Chance (The Woman in Black – West End, Jeeves & Wooster – UK & Far East Tour), Helen Foster (Get Ready With Me (A clown show) Co-collaborator – Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Yes Queens) and Philip Pellew (Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Founder Member, David Glass Ensemble – Founder Member).
Joining Meggido on the creative team are Jason Denvir (Gypsy & Top Hat – Mill at Sonning) as Designer, Alex Musgrave (It’s A MotherF**king Pleasure – The Vaults, Soho Theatre London & Soho Playhouse, New York) as Lighting Designer, Amanda Priestley (The Innocents) as Composer & Sound Designer, Christopher Reid (Stranger Things: The First Shadow) as Sound Programmer, Stephanie Lindwall as Assistant Director, Clare Milner as CSM/DSM, Izzy Moore as ASM, Jasmin Meara Wall as ASM and Denise Cleal as Wardrobe Supervisor.
This will mark the second play by Hulse that the Barn Theatre has produced following their Built By Barn production of his comedy adaptation of the classic Around the World in Eighty Days last year.
The new Built By Barn production marks the world premiere of Hulse & Smith’s new revision of Hulse’s play, the prior version first debuted as Sherlock Holmes and the Crimson Cobbles at The Theatre Chipping Norton in 2017.
Adam Meggido said, “As a lifelong fan of the Sherlock Holmes canon, I’m thrilled to be collaborating with Toby Hulse and the Barn on a new outing for the great detective. This is a playful and provocative new piece of work, and I’m looking forward to starting 2024 with a bold theatrical bang.”
Toby Hulse said, “I am so excited to be working with the Barn again, after its fantastic production of Around the World in Eighty Days. Sherlock Holmes and the Whitechapel Fiend is an extraordinary and unexpected new adventure for the world’s greatest detective, and with the exceptional talents of Adam Meggido as director, the show promises to be thrilling, wildly imaginative, and very, very funny.”.
Since launching in 2018, the Barn Theatre has gained national recognition having produced over 35 Built by Barn shows and being awarded The Stage Awards’ Best Fringe Theatre of the Year Award 2019. The theatre recently celebrating its fifth anniversary with a season that included world premieres of Simon Reade’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s Waiting For Anya, Jonathan Lynn’s final instalment of his classic series I’m Sorry Prime Minister, I Can’t Quite Remember, as well as a reimagined revival production of the musical Once and the world premiere of a musical adaptation of Treasure Island.
More information can be found at www.barntheatre.org.uk
