SUNDRE – There were few empty seats at the Sundre Arts Centre this past weekend and not even one to spare on Saturday night during the Peak Theatre Players’ three opening performances of Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery.
Director Brian Bailey said the facility’s capacity under the table seating arrangements for the theatre group’s shows is 126, and that the performance on Saturday night was sold out.
The opening performance on Friday night had only 10 seats left, which included a table of four who were unable to come out on account of illness.
And the matinée on Sunday afternoon had about 20 vacant seats, “which is decent for a daytime show,” said Bailey.
The production was a comedic take on the classic Sherlock Holmes murder mystery and featured a detailed bog setting background as well as effects including fog and some cap pistol gunshots during the climactic conclusion.
Five actors brought the story to life, with Bill Lough and Neil Embleton exclusively playing the lead roles of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson respectively.
The three others – Jason Bird, Garrett Janz and Rachel Klapp – not only respectively played the anchor roles of Sir Henry Baskerville, the family heir from Texas, the eccentric Jack Stapleton and Beryl Stapleton, but also juggled a difficult balancing act of taking on a diverse multitude of characters.
Facilitating the behind-the-scenes effort that required no shortage of hasty and seamless costume changes were the wardrobe’s masterminds Tracy Hooch-Antink and Colette Belanger, under the steerage of stage manager Veronica Embleton.
There are yet two more shows to go with only a few seats still available for this coming Friday night’s performance, while two small tables have been set aside for anyone with mobility impediments for the final show on Saturday.
