How five actors from Harrogate-based Woodlands Drama Group are tackling 38 roles between them for next show

Howard Atkin plays the Baker Street sleuth and Mark Fuller is his trusty friend and side-kick Dr Watson – and their characters remain constant throughout Baskerville.

Not so for the remaining cast of five of the Harrogate-based company: Alison Gilmour, Emily Grange, Clive Kirkham, Andy Williamson and Graham Wilson.

Between them play the remaining 38 roles which include men, women, children and animals. The audience is in no doubt that these are actors as familiar faces appear again and again with the addition of little more than a hat, wig, bib or pair of hooves.

The supporting cast have the challenge of playing the diverse range of characters who illustrate the legend of the Hound of the Baskervilles.

Unlike most plays in which the actor has time to develop their character and maintain it steadfastly from curtain up to curtain down, here the actors have to drop instantly into the role and move swiftly from one character to another, requiring rapid costume changes and shifts between personalities and accents.

Directed by Julie James, Baskerville promises to deliver a skillfully choreographed and well-rehearsed tale.

“This is in sharp contrast to the frenetic activity backstage as shouts of ‘quick, get this off me‘ ‘fasten that button’ and ‘where’s my hat’? erupt from the dressing room as the cast frantically launch themselves on stage in time for that crucial cue line,” said Alison.

“That said, when it does come together, it feels like a little piece of magic has been created by a talented, dedicated bunch of players who work well together as a team and don’t take themselves too seriously," she said.

Clive Kirkham plays multiple roles including Baskerville’s neighbour Stapleton.

"I have the pleasure and challenge of taking on three different roles – four if you count my stint as a 17th Century portrait – and one of the biggest issues I've found is figuring out what distinguishes them from each other and how, in the space of a few moments, I can telegraph who each person is to the audience,” he said.

"A place to start, of course, is with the script. And the character notes. The character's name of Hamish McCann gives a bit of clue as to the good doctor's regional origins so the 'voice' is clear. Add in a white coat and in a quick broad brushstroke he is established.

“Dr Mortimer, who starts the mystery off, seems to me to be solid, dependable, forthright and down-to-earth and I hope to convey this in his manner.

“The character of Stapleton is an altogether different proposition. It becomes clear that he is not quite who he seems to be. I'm aiming for a balance of engaging likeability with some hints at what is to come.”

Baskerville is on at Harrogate studio theatre from Wednesday November 23 to Saturday November 26, daily at 7.30pm and a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.

Tickets are available from Harrogate Theatre box office on 01423 502116 or online at www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk