Sherlock Holmes and the Whitechapel Fiend to premiere at The Barn Theatre

The Barn Theatre is to present the world premiere of Toby Hulse & Ross Smith’s play Sherlock Holmes and the Whitechapel Fiend.

Drama Desk Award nominee Adam Meggido (Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Showstopper! The Improvised Musical) will direct the production at the Cirencester venue from 26 January – 9 March 2024.

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).

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 hilarious mix of Basil Rathbone, The 39 Steps, Extras, and Cunk on Britain, using the full technical possibilities of the Barn Theatre’s stage; a thrilling, theatrical, and playful hansom carriage ride through the darkest parts of our collective imaginations.

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.

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 added: “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.”

For more information and tickets, visit www.barntheatre.org.uk