The Speckled Band at the Adelphi Theatre (review 15 june 1910)
"The Speckled Band" at the Adelphi Theatre is an article published in The Bystander on 15 june 1910.
Arthur Conan Doyle's play The Speckled Band: An Adventure of Sherlock Holmes with H. A. Saintsbury as Sherlock Holmes, was performed from 4 june to 6 august 1910 at the Adelphi Theatre (London, UK).
"The Speckled Band" at the Adelphi Theatre
Mr. Sherlock Holmes, the wonderful detective who can tell you how long you have been married by examining the thinness of your hair, and all that sort of thing, is with us once again. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous hero seems to be immortal, and there seems no reason why he should not be so if he can always be made as interesting as he is just now at the Adelphi Theatre. The Speckled Band is quite a nice example of the sensational play. The interest of the story increases with every act; and just before the fall of the curtain a nice evening of horror and suspense is wound up with the culminating sensation. It is melodrama, of course, but of a quiet and impressive kind. There is a most mysterious death, the secret of which only Sherlock Holmes can unravel, and this he does in his best style, using only a dark lantern, a magnifying-glass, and a very wary eye. As the chief interest of this play depends on the element of surprise, it would not be right to say much about the details of the plot. Mr. Lyn Harding as the ingenious murderer has found a part that will increase his already enviable reputation as a clever actor, his make-up and manner are quite admirable, and his performance altogether must be the best thing of its kind that has been seen. Another very successful part is that of Sherlock himself, represented with a quiet but impressive force by Mr. H. A. Saintsbury, who realises perfectly the appearance and manner of the celebrated detective.
The atmosphere of the uncanny is remarkably well sustained; for this is no vulgar murder, in which the victim is handled with a hatchet and dissected in the dining-room. The cause of death in the first instance baffled the resources of science, so that we have every assurance that we are dealing with a very refined killer indeed. And when we know that our hero (if you can call a murderer a hero) is getting ready to try the same game once more, we are not unreasonably apprehensive for fear the police should not be on the spot in time. Sherlock, it is true, seems very sure of himself, but his movements are so deliberate as to give rise to a fear that even he may have miscalculated the minutes for once. All this suspense is, however, merely a nice tribute to the dramatist's art. This is a play to see.
JINGLE.
Illustrations by Norman Morrow.
