LANE End Players offered a brilliant staging of this play. This well know story by Arthur Conan Doyle adapted from the novel into a play is not an easy one to stage especially in a village hall.

Set in Baskerville Hall in the present day it had all the creepy atmosphere expected of this thriller. Superbly directed by Dave Bowden the tension was evident from the start and indeed at the beginning as the tale unfolded and the audience were drawn in there was a loud knocking on the door causing most of the audience to jump in their seats.

The amazing lighting and sound effects added to the overall atmosphere. I particularly liked the use of scarlet lighting to depict violent death.

The set was a very cleverly designed with doors opening out to reveal an archway through which the moors could be seen and with mist rising up this all added to the general effect of a mystery. The storm scene and he howling of the Baskerville hound was particularly scary and the audience reacted accordingly.

There was some strong acting from members of the cast who did extremely well with such a wordy script but such was the pace of the play one was never aware that it was too long, in fact it seemed to be over only too soon.

Lane End Players are renowned for their first rate productions and this was no exception. It was a great evening’s entertainment.